In an earlier post LiT asked if poppies were illegal in the United States, to which I answered, "I don't think so!" Yesterday I happened to be talking with someone who is an expert in horticulture. He explained to me that the poppies that are found in wildflower mix are not illegal, but that the type of poppy that is called the Opium Poppy is in fact illegal in the US because it is the type from which you can harvest Opium. Here's some more info about poppies since I'm never going to describe this correctly myself. On my garden tour from a few weeks ago I unknowingly took a picture of that kind of poppy:
It is illegal to grow these, so the owner of this garden is actually breaking a law. Crazy. Why would you risk growing this? It's not so beautiful that you just
have to grow it so you can experience its beauty every single day of your life. So, now I'm wondering - are these people partaking of their poppies?
5 comments:
My landlord's 80+ year old mother has many colors of this flower growing in our yard. I guess it's a good thing that I live in Germany.
Hey there! Just saw that you have me linked. Thanks so much!
Perhaps they don't know that is an opium poppy. I wouldn't have known what one looks like, although where they would've gotten it I can't imagine.
Very interesting . . .
I guess it would be easier to plead ignorance should you have an illegal poppy - as opposed to an illegal substance . . .
Hi - there is only one species of poppy that is the illegal in the US. It's called Papaver sonniferum and is the "opium poppy". There are lots of other poppy species (like your pic) that are beautiful and completely legal to grow. Specialty nurseries usually carry them.
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