Poppies & Fumitories
Poppy Family - Papaveraceae
Common Poppy Papaver rhoeasNative throughout Europe and the Mediterranean Region to western and Central Asia. Typically far and away the commonest poppy species throughout most of its range and the species that forms great swathes of colour in cereal crops. Plants on Lesvos tend to be darker red than those of Western Europe and with a dark blotch at the petals bases (often edged with white).
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Yellow-juiced Poppy Papaver lecoqii
Native throughout southern Europe and parts of the Mediterranean region, east to Greece. Petals slightly overlapping, but often leaving a small gap between the petals at the base. Petals red, a shade lighter than Common Poppy. Seed capsule much longer than wide. Sap pale yellow, distinguishing it from other poppies.
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Rough Poppy Roemeria sicula
(Papaver hybridum) Native from Macaronesia eastwards through southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin to the Arabian Peninsula and the Himalayas. A small species. Petals rich red with a dark basal blotch and a clear gap between them. Seed capsule rounded like that of Common Poppy (not elongated like that of Yellow-juiced Poppy) and with spreading bristles.
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Virchov's Poppy Roemeria virchowii
Native to Western Turkey, with a few reports from some of the Greek Eastern Aegean Islands. A rare species, typically (though not always) with black blotches on both the tip and the base of the petals. A semiprocumbent species with the stems curving upwards towards their tips. Seed capsules with bristles curved upwards (not wide spreading) and sometimes confined to near the tip of the capsule.
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Opium Poppy Papaver somniferum
Probably native to Macaronesia and the western and central Mediterranean, but long-cultivated and the true native range is difficult to determine. Sometimes grown as a crop for a variety of uses, including production of opiates and bird seed, but mostly found as an escape from gardens. A tall and stately species, easily told from other poppies by the waxy grey, wavy-edged leaves and stems. Grown in a wide range of colours from white, through lilac and pink to red and dark maroon and in both single and double forms. When left to self-seed, populations usually seem to revert to the natural pale lilac with purple basal blotch. Seed capsules waxy grey and chunky.
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Yellow Horned-poppy Glaucium flavum
Native from macaronesia, through coasts of western Europe, the Mediterranean and Black Sea to Iran. Usually found on coastal sands and shingle.
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Red Horned-poppy Glaucium corniculatum
Native throughout the Mediterranean Region, eastwards to the Casipan Sea area. The deeply divided, greyish leaves and very long seedpods are like those of our native Yellow Horned Poppy, but the flowers are deep orange in colour.
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Beardless Hypecoum Hypecoum imberbe
Native throughout the Mediterranean to the Middle East. Flowers golden-yellow with relatively broad petals. Flower bracts narrow and linear.
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Sickle-fruited Hypecoum Hypecoum procumbens
Native from the Canary Islands eastwards through the Mediterranean to the Middle East. Flowers buttercup-yellow with more clearly three-lobed petals. Flower bracts broader and leaf-like.
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Judean Fumitory Fumaria judaica
Native to the central and eastern Mediterranean area, from Italy and Libya eastwards to the Middle East. Flowers whitish or pale pink, upper petal tipped green, inner petals tipped purple. Fruits 2-3mm long.
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Large-fruited Fumitory Fumaria macrocarpa
Native to Malta, Sicily and Libya and eastwards from the Balkans to the Middle East. Very similar to Judean Fumitory, but sepals narrower, inner petals not or only slightly tipped purple and Fruits 3-4mm long. Lower sepal typically strongly recurved and with a broadly spatulate tip.
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White Ramping Fumitory Fumaria capreolata
Native to Macaronesia, North-west Europe and throughout the Mediterranean Region. Flowers relatively large, creamy white, with a dark, blackish-purple tip. Sepals 4-6mm long, large and relatively broad.
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Common Fumitory Fumaria officinalis
Native throughout Europe and the Mediterranean Region. Sepals 2-3.5mm long, small and relatively narrow.
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Fine-leaved Fumitory Fumaria parviflora
Native throughout Europe and the Mediterranean Region, eastwards to Pakistan. Flowers small, white, with a dark purple tip. Sepals less than 1mm long, small and relatively deeply toothed. Leaves narrow, with the deeply cut sections clearly grooved.
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