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| Opium poppy | |
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| Scientific classification | |
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| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Papaveraceae |
| Genus: | Papaver |
| Binomial name | |
| Papaver somniferum Carolus Linnaeus | |
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum var. album, is a species of plant. Opium and poppy seeds come from poppies. A great number of opiates, such as morphine, heroin, and codeine, are made from opium. The Latin name for the opium poppy means "sleep-bringing poppy, white form," probably because some of these opiates make people feel sleepy.
The poppy is the only species of Papaveraceae to be grown as an agricultural crop. Other species, such as Papaver rhoeas and Papaver argemone, are important agricultural weeds. They may be wrongly thought of as the crop.
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