History of Oriental Poppies
Oriental poppies (Papaver orientale) have only been in documented existence for about 100 years. They are sometimes mistaken with other types of poppies that have a much longer and clandestine history, like the opium poppy found in Egyptian tombs and cultivated by the Ancient Sumerians. Oriental poppies may look similar but there is very little that is dangerous about them. Does this Spark an idea?
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Description
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The pink Oriental poppy is one of the most popular varieties. There are over 100 different kinds of Oriental poppy on the market today. Most have red to orange papery petals with black blotches near the dark central disc. Under that disc is a pod that dries to dark brown once the poppy dies back and contains the seeds. This is not the poppy that produces commercial poppy seeds. The stems are hairy, long and sometimes twisted. The leaves are long and pointed with toothed edges and they are also hairy and grow in clumps. Some flowers are pink to apricot and white.
Origin
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Other varieties of poppy can trace their linage to Samaria, Egypt and Greece, but the Oriental poppy finds its origin in an unlikely place according to its name. It was first found in Turkey and Iran.
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18th and 19th Centuries
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Oriental poppies were first introduced in Europe by Joseph de Tournefort, a French botanist. It was featured in "Botanical Magazine" published by William Curtis in the late 1780s. Two types of Oriental poppy were growing in European gardens by the end of the 1700s and they were Papaver pseudo-oriental and Papavar bracteatum. Both had red splotched with black flowers.
20th Century
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The white Oriental poppy was an accident of nature. In 1906 Amos Perry, a nurseryman in Britain, found something interesting growing in his poppy patch. It looked like a poppy and had the black splotches like a poppy, but it was not red. Instead it was salmon pink. He developed this flower and sold it as "Mr. Perry." In 1913 he received a nasty complain letter from a customer saying that one of poppies came out white and ruined an all pink border. This was the beginning of the white poppy known as "Perry's White." Other colors, shapes and sizes where developed from 1906 to 1914 that still can be found in gardens today.
Modern Marvels
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Oriental poppies have brought a bright touch of color to gardens for several decades. Today poppies come in a variety of colors. Petals can be smooth, crinkled or ruffled enough to look like double petals. Some petals have fringed edges. They come in a variety of sizes. Some interesting colors include a purple and brownish purple. Oriental poppies are grown in many gardens all over the world and hailed as an old favorite.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Oriental poppy image by Vitalij Geraskin from Fotolia.com oriental poppy image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com white oriental poppy image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com poppies image by Tomasz Plawski from Fotolia.com
