Learn More About Poppy Pods and Poppy Tea

History Poppy Pods And Poppy Tea 

We love poppy pods because of their rich history and exceptional applications in craft, medical and recreational use. Papaver somniferum was domesticated by the indigenous people of Western and Central Europe between 6000 and 3500 BC. However, it is believed that its origins may come from the Sumerian people, where the first use of opium was noticed. Poppies and opium made their way around the world along the silk road. Juglets resembling poppy seed pods have been discovered with trace amounts of opium and the flower appeared in jewelry and on art pieces in Egypt, dated 1550-1292.

Description ( What is Opium Poppy )

Poppy Pods are herbaceous annual, biennial or short-lived perennial plants. Some species are monocarpic, dying after flowering. Poppies can be over 1m tall with flowers up to 15 centimetres across. Flowers of species (not cultivars) have 4 or 6 petals, many stamens forming a conspicuous whorl in the center of the flower and an ovary of multiple fused carpels. Petals may be of almost any color and some have markings. The petals are crumpled in the bud and as blooming ends, the petals starts falling away. In the temperate zones, poppies bloom from spring into early summer. Most species secrete latex when injured. Bees use poppies as a pollen source. The pollen of the oriental poppy, Papaver orientale, is dark blue, that of the field or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) is grey to dark green. The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, grows wild in most parts of southern Asia, and South Eastern Europe. It is believed that it originated from the Mediterranean region.

Poppies belong to the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae, which includes the following genera:

Papaver – Papaver rhoeas, Papaver somniferum, Papaver orientale, Papaver nudicaule, Papaver cambricum
Eschscholzia – Eschscholzia californica
Meconopsis – Meconopsis napaulensis
Glaucium – the horned poppies including Glaucium flavum and Glaucium corniculatum
Stylophorum – celandine poppy
Argemone – prickly poppy
Romneya – matilija poppy and relatives
Canbya – pygmy poppy
Stylomecon – wind poppy
Arctomecon – desert bearpaw poppy
Hunnemannia – tulip poppy
Dendromecon – tree poppy
Uses

Plastic Remembrance Day poppies in Canada

Poppy Pods for sale in Canadian 
The flowers of most poppy species are attractive and are widely cultivated as annual or perennial ornamental plants. We are one of the most important  commercially cultivars of high quality organic poppy. We cultivate the  Papaver rhoeas and semi-double or double (flore plena) forms of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum and oriental poppy (Papaver orientale). Poppies of several other genera are also cultivated in gardens. A few species have other uses, principally as sources of drugs and foods. The opium poppy is widely cultivated and its worldwide production is monitored by international agencies. It is used for production of dried latex and opium, the principal precursor of narcotic and analgesic opiates such as morphine, heroin and codeine. Poppy seeds are rich in oil, carbohydrates, calcium and protein. Poppy oil is often used as cooking oil, salad dressing oil, or in products such as margarine. Poppy oil can also be added to spices for cakes, or breads. Poppy seeds are also use to make poppy tea which is some times referred to as opium tea. Poppy products are also used in different paints, varnishes, and some cosmetics.

Medicine ( Poppy Seed Tea )

Ancient Egyptian doctors would give their patients Poppy Seed Tea and let them eat seeds from a poppy to relieve pain. Poppy seeds contain small quantities of both morphine and codeine, which are pain-relieving drugs that are still used today. Poppy seeds and fixed oils can also be nonnarcotic because when they are harvested about twenty days after the flower has opened, the morphine is no longer present.

Symbolism ( Symbolic Use of Poppy Pods )

Poppies have been used as a symbol of sleep, peace, and death: Sleep because the opium extracted from them is a sedative, and death because of the common blood-red color of the red poppy in particular. In Greek and Roman myths, poppies were used as offerings to the dead. Poppies used as emblems on tombstones symbolize eternal sleep. This symbolism was evoked in the children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which a magical poppy field threatened to make the protagonists sleep forever. A second interpretation of poppies in Classical mythology is that the bright scarlet color signifies a promise of resurrection after death.

The poppy of war times remembrance is Papaver rhoeas, the stunning red-flowered corn poppy. This poppy is a common plant of disturbed ground in Europe and is found in several locations, including Flanders, which is the setting of the famous poem “In Flanders Fields” by the Canadian surgeon and soldier John McCrae. In Canada, the UK, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, artificial poppies (plastic poppy in Canada, paper in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Malta and New Zealand) are used to commemorate soldiers who died in war. This form of commemoration is associated with Remembrance Day, which falls on November 11. In Canada, Australia and the UK, poppies are often worn from the beginning of November through to the 11th, or Remembrance Sunday if that falls on a later date. In New Zealand and Australia, soldiers are also commemorated on ANZAC day (April 25), although the poppy is still commonly worn around Remembrance Day. Wearing of poppies has been a custom since 1924 in the United States. Moina Michael of Georgia is credited as the founder of the Memorial Poppy in the United States.

Red-flowered poppy is unofficially regarded as the national flower of the Albanians in Albania, Kosovo and elsewhere. This is due to its red and black colors, the same as the colors of the flag of Albania.

The California poppy, Eschscholzia California, is the state flower of California.

The powerful symbolism of Papaver rhoeas has been borrowed by various advocacy campaigns, such as the White Poppy and Simon Topping’s black poppy.