What are the propagation methods for opium poppies? A detailed guide to propagation techniques
Since the opium poppy is a plant whose cultivation is prohibited in China, private individuals should not grow it casually. Although the opium poppy has high medicinal value, it is also highly toxic. According to China's Criminal Law, private cultivation carries certain penalties
Since the opium poppy is a plant whose cultivation is prohibited in China, private individuals should not grow it casually. Although the opium poppy has high medicinal value, it is also highly toxic. According to China's Criminal Law, private cultivation carries certain penalties.
Opium poppy
The opium poppy is mainly propagated by sowing seeds. Sowing can be done in spring or autumn. Generally, spring sowing is in March to April, with flowering in June to July; autumn sowing is in September to November, with flowering in May to June of the following year. If the goal is to collect seeds, autumn sowing is best. The soil should be worked finely, beds made and watered thoroughly, then seeds broadcast or sown in rows. Because the seeds are tiny, the soil should be leveled and finely broken up before sowing; after broadcasting, covering with soil is not necessary, though a thin layer of fine sandy soil may be used. The covering layer should be thin enough that the seeds are no longer visible (0.2-0.3 cm). In North China, because winters are severe and seedlings struggle to overwinter, direct sowing is often done in early winter at the time of "Minor Snow," which allows the plants to sprout and grow as early as possible in spring.
How to grow opium poppies: cultivation methods for opium poppies
The opium poppy is brilliantly beautiful and a highly valued ornamental plant. How do you grow opium poppies? Below we explain the cultivation methods for opium poppies.
Introduction to the opium poppy:
The opium poppy (scientific name: Papaver somniferum) is a plant in the family Papaveraceae and the main raw material for producing opium; its extracts are also the source of various sedatives, such as morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine and narcotine. The scientific name "somniferum" means "sleep-inducing," reflecting its narcotic properties. The seeds of the opium poppy, poppy seeds, are an important food product containing oils beneficial to health and are widely used in salads around the world, while the opium poppy flower is brilliantly beautiful and a highly valued ornamental plant. Because the opium poppy carries the risk of being used to make drugs, yet also has value for making medicines and producing poppy seeds, it is cultivated in a regulated way in many countries around the world.
The opium poppy is a biennial herbaceous plant in the family Papaveraceae. The whole plant is glaucous green, with long elliptical leaves that clasp the stem; it flowers in summer, with large, showy blooms borne singly at the tips of the stems, in red, purple and white, opening upward. The flowers fall early, producing spherical capsules containing numerous tiny seeds.
The opium poppy, originally called the hero flower, symbolizes Scorpio among the twelve zodiac signs, and is native to Asia Minor, India and Iran. In some parts of China it is cultivated in small quantities as a medicinal plant. The opium poppy is a biennial herbaceous plant in the family Papaveraceae. The whole plant is glaucous green, with long elliptical leaves that clasp the stem; it flowers in summer, and the blooms are large and showy, in red, purple and white, opening upward. The flowers fall early, producing spherical capsules containing numerous tiny seeds. It contains substances such as morphine and cocaine, and excessive consumption can easily lead to addiction, but it is also a highly valued ornamental plant.
The opium poppy, also known as the opium flower, big smoke flower and hero flower, has large, showy blooms and a rich fragrance, and is one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. The opium poppy comes from the plant Papaver somniferum in the family Papaveraceae. Because the opium poppy is a raw material for making drugs, the flower is often regarded as a flower of evil, while in Europe and America it also carries symbolic meanings of sacrifice, love, respect and remembrance.
Cultivation methods for opium poppies:
Cultivating opium poppies has special requirements for the growing environment: little rainfall but moist soil, long sunshine hours but not dry conditions, nutrient-rich soil with low acidity, and an altitude of 900 m to 1300 m is best. The "Golden Triangle" at the junction of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos happens to meet these conditions. This is where the Pacific and Indian Ocean air currents meet, with continuous mountains, dense jungle and a mild, humid climate, making it one of the most suitable regions in the world for opium poppies to grow.
For opium poppy cultivation, it is suitable to sow the seeds in November, after which they can be left to grow; thinning is done once, and no fertilization, irrigation or field management is needed, and cutting can begin in February of the following year. After the sap is cut from the opium poppy capsule, the capsule along with the branches dries up and quickly rots, becoming fertilizer, so the poppy field becomes more fertile the more it is planted and can be cultivated continuously without being left fallow.
Opium poppy cultivation favors places with ample light and good ventilation; it is cold-tolerant but not tolerant of wetness or heat, and should not be planted in overly fertile soil or grown in repeated cropping. It should not be raised or planted in low-lying, damp places with heavy water and fertilizer or poor light; otherwise it grows poorly and is prone to disease.
Opium poppy cultivation is not strict about soil, but loose, fertile sandy loam is best, with a row spacing of 20 cm. After sowing, cover with plastic film, or sow in early spring when the soil surface has just thawed, gradually removing the film after the seedlings emerge. When the seedlings have 5 to 6 leaves, thin them, generally to a plant and row spacing of 30 cm x 30 cm. It does not transplant well, so direct sowing in the garden is best. During the seedling growth period, do not water too much, but keep the soil moist. Apply 2 to 3 light liquid fertilizer dressings before flowering, but do not fertilize excessively, otherwise pests and diseases are likely. If diseased plants are found, treat them promptly and pay attention to field hygiene.
Opium poppy Papaver somniferum opium poppy illustrated guide: how to grow opium poppies / how opium poppies propagate
Opium poppy profileOpium poppy Papaver somniferum
Aliases: opium flower, beauty spring flower, dancing grass, hundred charms, rivaling the peony
Classification: biennial herbaceous flower
Family and genus: Plantae, Angiosperms, Dicotyledons, Ranunculales, Papaveraceae, Papaver
Full bloom period: summer
The opium poppy (scientific name: Papaver somniferum) is a plant in the family Papaveraceae and the main raw material for producing opium; its extracts are also the source of various sedatives, such as morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine and narcotine. The scientific name "somniferum" means "sleep-inducing," reflecting its narcotic properties. The seeds of the opium poppy, poppy seeds, are an important food product containing oils beneficial to health and are widely used in salads around the world, while the opium poppy flower is brilliantly beautiful and a highly valued ornamental plant. Because the opium poppy carries the risk of being used to make drugs, yet also has the value of making...
Cultivation methods and precautions for opium poppies: introduction to the opium poppy
The opium poppy (scientific name: Papaver somniferum) is a plant in the family Papaveraceae and the main raw material for producing opium; its extracts are also the source of various sedatives, such as morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine and narcotine. The scientific name "somniferum" means "sleep-inducing," reflecting its narcotic properties. The seeds of the opium poppy, poppy seeds, are an important food product containing oils beneficial to health and are widely used in salads around the world, while the opium poppy flower is brilliantly beautiful and a highly valued ornamental plant. Because the opium poppy carries the risk of being used to make drugs, yet also has value for making medicines and producing poppy seeds, it is cultivated in a regulated way in many countries around the world.
The opium poppy is a biennial herbaceous plant in the family Papaveraceae. The whole plant is glaucous green, with long elliptical leaves that clasp the stem; it flowers in summer, with large, showy blooms borne singly at the tips of the stems, in red, purple and white, opening upward. The flowers fall early, producing spherical capsules containing numerous tiny seeds.
The opium poppy, originally called the hero flower, symbolizes Scorpio among the twelve zodiac signs, and is native to Asia Minor, India and Iran. In some parts of China it is cultivated in small quantities as a medicinal plant. The opium poppy is a biennial herbaceous plant in the family Papaveraceae. The whole plant is glaucous green, with long elliptical leaves that clasp the stem; it flowers in summer, and the blooms are large and showy, in red, purple and white, opening upward. The flowers fall early, producing spherical capsules containing numerous tiny seeds. It contains substances such as morphine and cocaine, and excessive consumption can easily lead to addiction, but it is also a highly valued ornamental plant.
The opium poppy, also known as the opium flower, big smoke flower and hero flower, has large, showy blooms and a rich fragrance, and is one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. The opium poppy comes from the plant Papaver somniferum in the family Papaveraceae. Because the opium poppy is a raw material for making drugs, the flower is often regarded as a flower of evil, while in Europe and America it also carries symbolic meanings of sacrifice, love, respect and remembrance.
Morphological characteristics of the opium poppy
The Mexican prickly poppy is an annual herb, 30-100 cm tall, with bitter sap. The stem is branched, sparsely covered with prickles, and covered with white powder. The basal leaves are densely clustered; with short petioles less than 1 cm long; the leaf blades are elliptical, 5-20 cm long and 2.5-7.5 cm wide, green above, grayish-white along both sides of the veins, grayish-green beneath, sparsely prickly along the veins on both surfaces, with pinnately parted margins, the lobes with wavy teeth, and the tooth tips bearing prickles; the stem leaves are alternate, papery, sessile or half-clasping. The flowers are densely arranged in terminal inflorescences; the pedicels are very short; each flower has 2-3 leaf-like bracts, 1-3 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide; the sepals are boat-shaped, 1 cm long, with a spur at the tip, the spur tip bearing a prickle, sparsely prickly outside, and falling off at flowering; there are 6 petals, broadly obovate, 1.7-3 cm long, yellow or orange-yellow; the filaments are about 7 mm long, the anthers narrowly oblong, 1.5-2 mm long, curving into a semicircle to circle after dehiscence; the ovary is oblong, about 0.7-1 cm high, covered with spreading yellowish-brown prickles, the style is very short, and the stigma is 3-6 lobed, deep red. The capsule is ovoid, 2.5-5 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide, sparsely covered with yellowish-brown prickles, splitting from the tip in 4-6 valves to 1/4-1/3 of the total length. The seeds are spherical with obvious reticulate markings. The flowering period is May to July, and the fruiting period is June to August. The capsule is elliptical, prickly on the surface, and contains many seeds. The seeds are black with a tuberculate seed coat. The opium poppy flowers are large and showy, in colors such as red, yellow, white, pink and purple. Only after the petals fall can the fruit full of toxic sap be produced. Flowering period: April to May; fruiting period: June to August.
Harvesting and storage: At the end of summer when the fruit is ripe, pick the fruit, sun-dry it, crush it open, remove the husk, and take the seeds.
Other notes: The seeds are toxic, and accidental ingestion can cause diarrhea.
Species include:Red poppy, white poppy, Oriental poppy, etc.
Ecological habits of the opium poppy
Habits: Prefers sunny, moist, airy, acidic soil.
Distribution range of the opium poppy
The world's largest opium poppy production area is Afghanistan, and 75% of the world's drugs originate from opium poppy production areas in Afghanistan. Because of years of war and poor land, Afghanistan can only rely on growing opium poppies to produce drugs to sustain its national economy.
Production range
The opium poppy is native to Asia Minor, India and Iran. In some parts of China, medicinal plantations cultivate it in small quantities, mostly for medicinal use. The opium poppy is a biennial herbaceous plant in the family Papaveraceae. The whole plant is glaucous green, with long elliptical leaves that clasp the stem; it flowers in summer, with large, showy blooms borne singly at the tips of the stems, in red, purple and white, opening upward. The flowers fall early, producing spherical capsules containing numerous tiny seeds.
Medicinal or dietary therapeutic value of the opium poppy
The medical information and health dietary information on Huhuawang are for reference only and cannot be used as a basis for diagnosis or medical treatment. For any health problem, consult professional medical personnel, and for the treatment of any disease, follow a doctor's advice.
Ultimate flower-care mission: To love yourself, start from reality and strictly follow a doctor's advice. Toward illness, do not be careless, do not delay, do not give up hope; face it bravely, warm the silent world with love, and care for the flower field within your heart with your heart.
The medical content on Huhuawang is for reference only and cannot be regarded as professional advice. For any health problem, consult professional medical personnel.
Medicinal information (1)
[Chinese name] Opium poppy, Afurong
[Pinyin] Yingsu
[English name] Opium Poppy, Garden Poppy
[Latin scientific name] Papaver somniferum L.
[Family and genus classification] Papaveraceae, Papaver
[Plant morphology] Annual or biennial herb. Stem erect, 60-150 cm tall. Leaves alternate; lower stem leaves with short petioles, upper leaves sessile; leaf blades narrowly long-elliptical, 6-30 cm long and 3.5-20 cm wide, apex acute, base rounded or nearly cordate, margin irregularly coarsely toothed or pinnately lobed, both surfaces covered with white powder. Flowers terminal, with long pedicels, the flower stem 12-14 cm long; sepals 2, long-elliptical; petals 4, sometimes double, circular or broadly ovate, both 5-7 cm long and wide, white, pink or purplish-red; stamens numerous, anthers oblong, yellow; pistil 1, ovary oblong-ovoid, without style, stigma 7-15, arranged radially. Capsule ovoid-spherical or elliptical, yellowish-brown when ripe, dehiscing by pores. Seeds numerous, kidney-shaped, with obvious reticulate markings on the surface, brown. Flowering period April to June. Fruiting period June to August.
[Habitat and distribution] Grows in mountain forest edges, meadows, meadow steppes and valley areas. Distributed in south-central Europe and the temperate regions of Asia. The medicinal material is mainly produced in India and Turkey.
[Medicinal part] The mature fruit husk is used as medicine. Chinese medicine name: Yingsu ke.
[Harvesting and processing] Pick the fruit from April to June, split it open, remove the seeds, and sun-dry.
[Main components] Mainly contains various alkaloids, morphine, codeine and other components.
[Pharmacological effects] Effects include anesthesia and pain relief, hypnosis and antispasmodic action, stopping diarrhea, and relieving cough.
[Nature, flavor and functions] Sour and astringent, neutral. Toxic. Astringes the lungs, firms the intestines, and relieves pain.
[Indications and usage] Treats chronic cough, chronic diarrhea, chronic dysentery, rectal prolapse, bloody stool, pain in the heart, abdomen, tendons and bones, spermatorrhea, frequent urination, and leukorrhea. Oral use: decoct in water, 0.8-2 qian; or make into pills or powder.
1. To treat chronic cough that will not stop: remove the fibrous parts from the poppy husk, roast with honey and grind into powder, take five fen per dose, taken with honey water. (Shiyi Dexiao Fang)
2. To treat consumptive panting and cough that will not stop, with spontaneous sweating: take an unlimited amount of poppy husk, stir-fry, grind into powder, take two qian per dose, decoct together with dark plum, one cup of water, take warm; if there is sweating after eating, add thirty wheat grains, decoct together and take warm. (Xuanming Lun Fang)
3. To treat watery diarrhea that will not stop: one opium poppy husk (remove the stem and membrane), ten pieces each of dark plum flesh and jujube flesh. One cup of water, decoct down to seven parts, take warm. (Jingyan Fang)
Basic components (1)
The outer husk of the mature opium poppy capsule contains small amounts of morphine, codeine, thebaine, narcotine, narcotoline and papaverine; it also contains about 2.4% polysaccharides, which upon hydrolysis yield 10% lactose, 6% arabinose, 6% xylose, 4% rhamnose, 60% galacturonic acid, 4% 4-0-methylglucuronic acid, trace amounts of fucose, 2-0-methylfucose, 2-0-methylxylose and glucuronic acid, sedoheptulose, D-mannoheptulose, D-glycero-D-mannooctulose, mesoinositol and erythritol. Excessive consumption can easily lead to addiction.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the opium poppy husk is used as medicine, also known in prescriptions as "yumi ke" or "ying ke." It is generally harvested after "cutting the smoke" in summer, with the stem ends and seeds removed, then sun-dried and stir-fried with vinegar or roasted with honey for later use. The seeds contain 50% oil and can be pressed for oil. In addition, in most areas of Yunnan, opium poppy husk can be used as a hot pot base ingredient.
The opium poppy husk is neutral in nature, sour and astringent in taste, and toxic. It contains more than 30 alkaloids including morphine, codeine, narcotine and papaverine, and is used as an analgesic, antitussive and antidiarrheal medicine for chronic cough due to lung deficiency, various pains in the chest, abdomen, tendons and bones, and chronic dysentery and frequent diarrhea; it is also used for spermatorrhea and involuntary emission caused by kidney deficiency. Added to dishes, it causes the brain to form very strong memories, and people who eat it easily become addicted; long-term consumption carries the risk of poisoning, and it is a prohibited food additive.
The opium poppy fruit contains a milky sap, which when cut and dried is "opium." It contains 10% morphine and other alkaloids, can relieve spasms of smooth muscle, especially vascular smooth muscle, and can inhibit the heart muscle, and is mainly used for conditions such as angina pectoris and arterial embolism. However, long-term use easily leads to addiction and chronic poisoning, seriously harming the body, and turning people into what is commonly called an "opium ghost." In severe cases it can even be fatal due to difficulty breathing. Therefore, China strictly controls opium poppy cultivation, and except for medicinal and scientific research purposes, all cultivation is prohibited.
The opium poppy is also called the hero flower or corn poppy, and is the raw material for making opium, as well as one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. Raw opium, as an analgesic, sedative and sleeping agent, was already highly valued by physicians in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. The opium poppy is native to the eastern Mediterranean mountains, Asia Minor, Egypt and other places. At the beginning of the Common Era, the opium poppy spread from Greece and the Mesopotamian plain to Egypt; in ancient Egypt, the opium poppy was called the "divine flower." It spread to Southeast Asia in the 7th century. For a long period, Southeast Asians regarded the opium poppy as a medicinal plant.
It was not until the mid-to-late 19th century that British and French colonists sowed opium poppy seeds in Myanmar and Laos under the name of drugs, like opening Pandora's box, and from then on the cloud of drugs hung over the Golden Triangle, giving it no peace. They induced local residents to plant and process it on a large scale, and actively organized purchasing and trafficking, prompting the Golden Triangle to play a special and eye-catching role on the world stage. Before long, opium poppy seeds were spread onto China's land as well. In 1624, during the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch introduced the method of mixing opium with tobacco for smoking into China's interior, and opium spread. The Chinese nation then began to suffer from its poison.
Variety classification of opium poppies: subspecies and varieties
The opium poppy has a large number of subspecies and varieties, with different flower colors, and the number and form of petals, the number of capsules, and the yield of morphine and other physical properties also differ. Papaver somniferum Laciniatum (sometimes also called Papaver laciniatum) is one of the subspecies of the opium poppy, with double flowers, rich colors, and petals tightly arranged, so that the whole flower looks like a fluffy ball.
Certain subspecies of the opium poppy, "Norman" and "Przemko," have extremely low morphine content, less than 1%, but high content of certain specific alkaloids, which is unfavorable for the labor-intensive process of oxycodone production, compared with the original species P. somniferum. However, most varieties, including those for ornamental and seed production use, contain relatively high morphine content, with an average of 10%.
Misidentification
On Remembrance Day in Europe, America and Commonwealth countries, local officials and members of the public wear corn poppies (which belong to the same genus as the opium poppy but are a different species) on their chests as a mark of remembrance. British Prime Minister Cameron led a delegation to visit China in November 2010, around Remembrance Day, and all British members visiting China wore bright red corn poppies on their chests in memory of soldiers killed in World War I and World War II. The corn poppy was mistaken by the Chinese side for the opium poppy. In China, the opium poppy is associated with the Opium War. This mistake sparked a diplomatic incident between China and Britain. When Cameron and cabinet members were at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, they refused the Chinese side's request to remove the poppies. A Prime Minister's Office staff member said: "The Chinese side told us that wearing poppies was inappropriate because the two countries had experienced the Opium War. We told them that this flower has great significance for us, and all of us would continue to wear it."
Cultivation techniques for opium poppies: cultivation management
It prefers places with ample light and good ventilation; it is cold-tolerant but not tolerant of wetness or heat, and should not be planted in overly fertile soil or grown in repeated cropping. It should not be raised or planted in low-lying, damp places with heavy water and fertilizer or poor light; otherwise it grows poorly and is prone to disease. It is not strict about soil, but loose, fertile sandy loam is best, with a row spacing of 20 cm. After sowing, cover with plastic film, or sow in early spring when the soil surface has just thawed, gradually removing the film after the seedlings emerge. When the seedlings have 5 to 6 leaves, thin them, generally to a plant and row spacing of 30 cm x 30 cm. It does not transplant well, so direct sowing in the garden is best. During the seedling growth period, do not water too much, but keep the soil moist. Apply 2 to 3 light liquid fertilizer dressings before flowering, but do not fertilize excessively, otherwise pests and diseases are likely. If diseased plants are found, treat them promptly and pay attention to field hygiene. Do not let the nursery area become hot and humid or poorly ventilated. Avoid continuous cropping.
Propagation methods for opium poppies: growth and reproduction
The opium poppy is propagated by sowing seeds. Sowing can be done in spring or autumn. Generally, spring sowing is in March to April, with flowering in June to July; autumn sowing is in September to November, with flowering in May to June of the following year. If the goal is to collect seeds, autumn sowing is best. The soil should be worked finely, beds made and watered thoroughly, then seeds broadcast or sown in rows. Because the seeds are tiny, the soil should be leveled and finely broken up before sowing; after broadcasting, covering with soil is not necessary, though a thin layer of fine sandy soil may be used. The covering layer should be thin enough that the seeds are no longer visible (0.2-0.3 cm). In North China, because winters are severe and seedlings struggle to overwinter, direct sowing is often done in early winter at the time of "Minor Snow," which allows the plants to sprout and grow as early as possible in spring.
The opium poppy of the opium poppy flower
The opium poppy (scientific name: Papaver somniferum) is a plant in the family Papaveraceae and the main raw material for producing opium; its extracts are also the source of various sedatives, such as morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine and narcotine. The scientific name "somniferum" means "sleep-inducing," reflecting its narcotic properties. The seeds of the opium poppy, poppy seeds, are an important food product containing oils beneficial to health and are widely used in salads around the world, while the opium poppy flower is brilliantly beautiful and a highly valued ornamental plant.
Chinese scientific name: Opium poppy (yīng sù)
Latin scientific name: Papaver somniferum
Other names: Yingzi su (Bencao Shiyi), yumi, xianggu, minang, nangzi (Kaibao Bencao), ying su
Kingdom: Plantae
Family: Papaveraceae
Genus: Papaver
Latin scientific name: Papaver somniferum
Other names: Yingzi su (Bencao Shiyi), yumi, xianggu, minang, nangzi (Kaibao Bencao), ying su
Kingdom: Plantae
Family: Papaveraceae
Genus: Papaver
Introduction
The opium poppy is native to the eastern Mediterranean mountains, Asia Minor, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and other places, and was introduced to China from the Persian region in the 7th century AD. Today India and Turkey are the two main production areas; in Asia, the Golden Triangle on the border of China, Thailand and Myanmar is a major area of illegal cultivation. In some parts of China, medicinal plantations cultivate it in small quantities. The opium poppy is a biennial herbaceous plant in the family Papaveraceae. The whole plant is glaucous green, with long elliptical leaves that clasp the stem; it flowers in summer, with large, showy blooms borne singly at the tips of the stems, in red, purple and white, opening upward. The flowers fall early, producing spherical capsules containing numerous tiny seeds.
The opium poppy husk contains small amounts of morphine, codeine, thebaine, narcotine, narcotoline and papaverine; it also contains about 2.4% polysaccharides, which upon hydrolysis yield 10% lactose, 6% arabinose, 6% xylose, 4% rhamnose, 60% galacturonic acid, 4% 4-0-methylglucuronic acid, trace amounts of fucose, 2-0-methylfucose, 2-0-methylxylose and glucuronic acid, sedoheptulose, D-mannoheptulose, D-glycero-D-mannooctulose, mesoinositol and erythritol.
Excessive consumption can easily lead to addiction.
Morphological characteristics
Annual or biennial herb, 60-100 cm tall. The stem is smooth and covered with white powder. Leaves alternate, grayish-green, sessile, clasping the stem, long-elliptical. The flower buds often droop, borne singly, and stand upright when open; the flowers are large and beautiful, with 2 sepals, green, falling early; 4 petals, white, pink or purple. The fruit is long-elliptical or urn-shaped, about half a fist in size, yellowish-brown or light brown, smooth, with longitudinal stripes. Seeds numerous, much like those of the living stone plant, very small, kidney-shaped.
Overview and traits:Annual or biennial herb, with a single terminal flower that is beautiful, four petals in white, pale red or purplish-red, and the fruit is a capsule, ovoid-spherical or long-elliptical; the seeds do not contain morphine.
Chemical components:The seeds contain small amounts of papaverine, morphine and traces of narcotine; germinated seeds contain a considerable amount of narcotine; according to another report, they also contain morphine, codeine and thebaine. The seeds also contain 11-oxo-triacontanoic acid.
Nature and flavor:① "Kaibao Bencao": "Sweet, neutral, non-toxic." ② "Bencao Tujing": "Cold in nature."
Functions and indications:Treats nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and dysentery, and rectal prolapse. ① "Bencao Tujing": "Governs the movement of wind qi, expels pathogenic heat, and treats nausea with phlegm stagnation in the chest." ② "Gangmu": "Treats diarrhea and dysentery, and moistens dryness." ③ "Yilin Zuanyao": "Clears stomach heat."
Usage and dosage
Oral use: decoct in water, 1-2 qian; or make into pills.
Caution
"Depei Bencao": "Eating too much promotes urination and bowel movements and stirs bladder qi."
Methods of abuse:The stems and leaves contain small amounts of alkaloids; after maturing and drying they are cut and smoked as tobacco; the immature capsules are cut open and the milky sap collected, which when dried and solidified into opium is inhaled through a long pipe attached to a pipe bowl; if the capsules are not cut open, after maturing the sap solidifies on the capsule shell by itself and becomes the raw form of opium.
"Divine flower" was the honorific given to the opium poppy by the ancient Egyptians. The opium poppy is native to the eastern Mediterranean mountains, Asia Minor, Egypt and other places. Bronze Age humans already recognized its medicinal value, and Assyrian medical texts translated from cuneiform mention the opium poppy. As an analgesic, sedative and sleeping agent, raw opium was highly valued by ancient Greek and Roman physicians.
The opium poppy has special requirements for the growing environment: little rainfall but moist soil, long sunshine hours but not dry conditions, nutrient-rich soil with low acidity, and an altitude of 900 m to 1300 m is best. The "Golden Triangle" at the junction of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos happens to meet these conditions. This is where the Pacific and Indian Ocean air currents meet, with continuous mountains, dense jungle and a mild, humid climate, making it one of the most suitable regions in the world for opium poppies to grow.
After British colonists occupied Myanmar in 1852, they discovered that the "Golden Triangle" was an ideal place for producing top-quality opium paste, so the colonists personally went up into the mountains, teaching by words and example, and induced local residents to plant opium poppies on a large scale. As long as opium poppy seeds were scattered into the mountains of the "Golden Triangle," 80% of the cultivated land bloomed with alluring flowers. Since opium poppy seeds were sown in the "Golden Triangle," the opium poppy found a suitable growing environment here and began to spread wildly. It turned this beautiful place, the "Golden Triangle," into a notorious drug kingdom. The meaning of "Golden Triangle" evolved into a place that abounds in drugs.
Traveling through the rolling valleys of the "Golden Triangle." The newly risen sun slowly climbs, and flowers of snow-white, pale purple and bright red sway in the subtropical warm breeze, unrestrained and bewitching, while a faintly sweet and bitter fragrance fills the air. This is the opium poppy flower, full of temptation yet laden with toxic sap.
The opium poppy (Papaver Somniferum), also known as the opium flower. It is highly adaptable and can grow from the southernmost tip of Africa to the northern part of the globe. The opium poppy is an annual herbaceous plant, generally sown in autumn and harvested in summer, with plants 1 m to 5 m tall, and the whole plant covered with white powder. The flowers are large and showy, double, in colors such as red, yellow, white, pink and purple; the leaves are silver-green, large and smooth, split or serrated.
The opium poppy is a "lazy man's crop." After sowing in November each year, it can be left to grow; thinning is done once, and no fertilization, irrigation or field management is needed, and cutting can begin in February of the following year. After the sap is cut from the opium poppy capsule, the capsule along with the branches dries up and quickly rots, becoming fertilizer, so the poppy field becomes more fertile the more it is planted and can be cultivated continuously without being left fallow.
More than 10 days after the poppy flowers fall, every poppy field is full of swaying fruit, and the oval poppy pods are similar in size and shape to an egg. Inside the walls of the grown capsule is a milky white sap. The Wa women grind a blade until it is very thin, then skillfully make two or three cuts on the plump pod with the blade, and the milky white poppy sap flows out. After four or five hours, the poppy sap gradually turns black and hardens, and she then gently scrapes off the half-coagulated opium paste with a small crescent-shaped sickle. This is raw opium. From each pod, only a bit of raw opium the size of a little fingernail can be scraped off.
Raw opium obtained from the poppy is sold in round lumps, cakes or bricks, and is later crushed or further processed. The active ingredients of opium are alkaloids, the most important of which is morphine. Morphine obtained after processing raw opium, after a complex process of conversion, becomes heroin.
The harmful consequences of the poppy
The poppy is the main drug-source plant from which the drug heroin is extracted. Long-term use easily leads to addiction and chronic poisoning, seriously harming the body, and turning people into what is commonly called an "opium ghost." In severe cases, it can even cause death from breathing difficulties. It, together with cannabis and coca, is known as one of the three major drug plants. Therefore, our country strictly controls poppy cultivation, and apart from medicinal and scientific research use, all cultivation is prohibited.
Harmful ways opium poppy is abused
The stems and leaves contain a small amount of alkaloids; after mature and drying, they are cut and smoked as tobacco. Immature capsules are slit to collect their sap, which is dried and solidified into opium and then inhaled through a long tube attached to a pipe bowl. After the slit capsules mature, the sap solidifies by itself on the husk and becomes the raw form of opium.
The cultural background and meaning of the poppy
The meaning of the poppy is a temptation that can lead one toward destruction
The explanation is that this temptation of beauty is extremely powerful, so powerful that many people are willing to accept this destruction in order to accept the temptation, symbolizing a self-destructive pursuit of beauty.
In the United Kingdom there are two holidays commemorating fallen soldiers. The first is "Armistice Day" on November 11, and the second is "Remembrance Day," the first Monday after November 11. On "Remembrance Day," which began in 1936, the United Kingdom holds a military parade, and each formation lays a poppy wreath at the Cenotaph and observes 2 minutes of silence. The reason the poppy was chosen is that from 1915 to 1917, hundreds of thousands of British soldiers died in battle at Ypres in Flanders, and after the war many poppies bloomed nearby, so the British chose to wear this flower to commemorate the dead, so that people would not forget the lives lost in war.
Related legends Legend 1
In ancient Egypt, the poppy was called the "sacred flower." To express their praise of the poppy, the ancient Greeks had the goddess of agriculture and grain hold a poppy flower in her hand. A story about the poppy also circulates in ancient Greek mythology. There was a demon god who governed death named Hypnos, and his son Morpheus held a poppy pod in his hand, guarding his deeply sleeping father so that he would not be awakened. The poppy symbolizes Scorpio among the twelve zodiac signs. Scorpio is the eighth house of the zodiac and is the transformation of (life).
The poppy is the transformer. (Pluto) is the ruling planet of Scorpio, and both inspire the latent power of crossing through and deepening, giving Scorpio a lifelong faith in self-tempering. Scorpio governs the flowers of late autumn, and in the name of (Pluto), it is especially associated with clustered plants, thorny, dark red, medicinal narcotic plants, or predatory plants, bringing the colors of Pluto and the eighth house.
In Europe, the poppy is regarded as the "flower of remembrance." In 1914, the First World War broke out. The German army quickly occupied Belgium, and Britain and France sent troops one after another to deal with Germany. The land of Flanders in Belgium became the main battlefield of the Western Front, and the city of Ypres was reduced to ruins. Millions of innocent soldiers (including junior officers) fell here for the interests of the ruling class and warmongers, among whom British troops suffered the most deaths, and they were buried beneath this land. The Flanders region was originally a place where poppies bloomed, and from then on they bloomed even more vigorously. Later, an American, Monia Michael, began wearing a poppy to commemorate fallen soldiers. She also sold poppies to fund disabled veterans. Later, a Frenchwoman, Madame E. Guerin, also sold handmade poppies to raise funds for poor children in war-ravaged areas. In 1921 she visited Canada and persuaded the Canadian Great War Veterans Association (now the Royal Canadian Legion) to accept the poppy as the symbol of Veterans Day, to be used for fundraising. Therefore, starting on the last Friday of October each year and continuing to Veterans Day on November 11, tens of millions of poppy symbols are distributed to the public. People wear this symbol on the left lapel of their clothing or close to the heart, expressing mourning for those who died for their country. People can also buy poppies to help veterans and their families who need assistance.
Therefore, the poppy, symbolizing beauty, despair and drugs, also has a theme related to sacrifice, love, respect and remembrance.
The legend of the poppy in China: The poppy flower itself is not poisonous. What is truly poisonous is the white sap in the drooping capsule, which is the source of the white powder that becomes evil. Beneath the beautiful flower lies a great disaster for humanity, and this has also made the flower a flower of evil. However, ornamental poppies have not had their beauty buried because of the evil powder. Its graceful alias seems to wash away the filth brought by evil, and Yu Meiren ("beauty Yu") completes its beauty. The name Yu Meiren makes one think of Yu Ji from the Chu-Han Contention in history. After her sorrowful life, the gorgeous flowers blooming on the beauty's grave are the incarnation of Yu Ji.
Legend 2
It is said that long ago in a mountain hollow of Gushan, there was a small village of a dozen or so households. In the village there was a handsome young man who was third in birth order, and people all called him Sanlang. From childhood, Sanlang was very close to a girl named Yingshu. They grew up together as childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree, and got along very well. Sanlang played the qin very well, and Yingshu was clever and quick-witted, and especially loved listening to the qin. Whenever she heard Sanlang's qin music, she would be utterly enchanted. By the time she reached seventeen or eighteen, Sanlang and Yingshu had privately pledged themselves to each other for life. Yingshu would marry no one but him, and Sanlang would marry no one but her.
One day, a matchmaker came to Yingshu's home to propose marriage, speaking of a wealthy young man from a rich family in a neighboring village. Yingshu's father, coveting wealth, agreed at once. When Yingshu learned of this, she swore she would rather die than obey. The matchmaker came very frequently, urging the matter every few days, and Yingshu's parents watched her strictly and pressed her hard. As the wedding date drew near, on a pitch-black night, Yingshu, taking advantage of her family's inattention, tied a rope to a tree in the courtyard and hanged herself. Yingshu's father regretted it too late, and could only bury his short-lived daughter on a patch of mountain land. When Sanlang heard the news of Yingshu's death, he was extremely grieved. He threw himself down before Yingshu's grave, beating his chest and stamping his feet, crying himself half dead. Through his tear-blurred eyes, he suddenly saw a flower break through the soil and emerge from the new grave. With red flowers and green leaves, it was fresh and lively, and the pink blossoms gave off an alluring fragrance. Sanlang carefully dug up this flower, brought it home, planted it in a flowerpot, and placed it in his study. Every night he shut the door and did not go out, playing the qin to the flower to express his longing for Yingshu. As days passed, it was like this every night. One night, as soon as Sanlang's qin music sounded, he saw Yingshu walk down from the flower, and the study was immediately filled with joyful laughter and voices. In the deep, quiet night, Yingshu and Sanlang were still intimate, pouring out to each other their thoughts of parting in life and death.
As time went on, Sanlang's two sisters-in-law became suspicious: Sanlang was unmarried, so where was the woman's voice in the room coming from? One night, the two sisters-in-law heard the qin music again in the study, so they quietly stood under the window, moistened the window paper with spit and made a hole, and peeked inside. They saw a beautiful woman walk down from the flower, dressed in pink light gauze, her black hair lightly coiled, her fresh and tender face like flower petals, and her sparkling double eyelids containing bright black pupils. She was incomparably pretty. She and Sanlang were intimate, talking and laughing. The two sisters-in-law thought Sanlang had been bewitched, and that a monster had entangled him.
Not many days later, Sanlang's maternal grandfather turned seventy. Sanlang had no choice but to leave home to offer birthday congratulations, but he could not set his mind at ease about the flower in the room. After Sanlang left, the two sisters-in-law ran in great haste to Sanlang's study, rummaged through boxes and cabinets in a wild mess, and took the flower out. They tore the flower until branches and leaves were broken and fallen petals covered the ground, and they even scolded: "Let's see you act like a spirit and make trouble, let's see you entangle a man again!"
After finishing the birthday congratulations, Sanlang, thinking fondly of Yingshu, hurried home. Pushing open the room door and looking inside, he could not help but be stunned: petals were scattered all over the room. Sanlang knelt on the ground, and while shedding tears, used spit to stick the leaves and petals back one by one. Strangely enough, the flower returned to its original appearance. Sanlang happily played the qin again, but no matter how beautifully he played, Yingshu's figure never appeared again. He only saw that in the flower's center a small round fruit had formed. According to legend, this is what later generations called the poppy.
Historical development
Human ancestors knew the poppy very early. Archaeologists say that the poppy was accidentally discovered by Neolithic people while traveling in the mountains along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. More than 5,000 years ago
the Sumerians devoutly called it the "joy plant" and believed it was a gift from the gods. The ancient Egyptians also used it as a miracle drug for treating infants' night crying. In the third century BC, detailed descriptions of opium appeared in ancient Greek and Roman books. The great poet Homer called it the "herb of forgetfulness," and Virgil called it the "sleep-inducing drug." Some slave owners even planted some poppies, of course only to admire their beautiful flowers.
But when the wheel of history rolled into the nineteenth century, people finally discovered that the poppy was actually a sword of Damocles hanging over humanity. Because while it treated people's diseases and made them forget pain and fear, it could also make human life wither in anesthesia and be destroyed in hallucinations. Sadly, human selfishness and greed once again overcame reason and morality. Early colonists, while banning their own people from smoking opium, led disaster to all humanity.
In the middle and late nineteenth century, the British Empire, which had long banned smoking in its own country, found a good place for opium cultivation in its colony of Burma. From then on, on the world map there gradually formed a place later generations called the "Golden Triangle."
The "Golden Triangle" is located at the junction of Burma, Thailand and Laos, most of it in eastern Shan State of Burma. In 1852, the British Empire launched the Second Anglo-Burmese War and occupied Lower Burma. They quickly discovered that the mountainous areas of northern Burma were suitable for opium cultivation, so the British colonists in the "Golden Triangle" forced the local indigenous people to grow poppies and refine opium, and then sold it elsewhere. Today, the "Golden Triangle" has become the focus of condemnation by the whole world. Those drug trafficking groups are everywhere, and lured by high profits, when one group surrenders, another takes its place. Many dutiful police officers have shed blood on the battlefield... Under the bright sunshine of the Golden Triangle, poppies are still in full bloom and coca leaves still sway. Is the transformation from "joy plant" to "devil's flower" the misfortune of the poppy or the tragedy of humanity?
The flower language of the poppy
The poppy was originally named the hero flower. It symbolizes Scorpio among the twelve zodiac signs. Scorpio is the eighth house of the zodiac and is the transformer of (life). (Pluto) is the ruling planet of Scorpio, and both inspire the latent power of crossing through and deepening, giving Scorpio a lifelong faith in self-tempering. Scorpio governs the flowers of late autumn, and in the name of (Pluto), it is especially associated with clustered plants, thorny, dark red, medicinal narcotic plants, or predatory plants, bringing the colors of Pluto and the eighth house.
Regarding the flower language of the poppy, opinions differ.
Overall flower language: hope
Other flower languages
1 Love of death: people say the extreme of romance is death, yet one simply cannot die, so the poppy's flower language is "love of death."
2 Gorgeous, noble: love is like the poppy, bewitchingly alluring, so the poppy also has a flower language: gorgeous, noble.
3 Forgetting, eternal rest, comfort, oblivion, sleep
4 You are poisonous, you are truly vicious
Flower language of each variety:
1 Sorrowful red poppy: comfort
2 White poppy: forgetting, first love
3 Oriental poppy: obedience and peace
4 Beauty poppy: beauty
5 Long-pod poppy: rest
6 Horned poppy: patience
Flower motto: When you truly face your own defeat, you will find that the problem is a turning point and hope.
Poppy pictures