Poppy

Poppy, name for annual or herbaceous perennial plants of the genus Papaver and related genera. There are about 100 species, which are mostly native to temperate and subtropical areas in Eurasia and northern Africa. The flower bud is enclosed by two thick, green sepals that drop off to allow the thin petals to unfold. The seeds are enclosed in a capsule. The sap of the unripe capsules of the opium poppy (P. somniferum) yield opium; its seeds (poppyseed) are not narcotic.