The poppy: Nice, but also dangerous
This year, this beautiful poppy grew on our terrace from a very narrow gap. She was 1.15 meters high, had a sturdy stalk and five buds, which opened in each case to large light purple flowers, but unfortunately each bloomed only one day.
Since this is not the well-known red poppy (Papaver rhoeas), which grows on some field margins or on meadows, I have informed me and found out that there are 50 to 120 poppy species worldwide. Also the perennial red or orange blooming oriental poppy or Oriental poppy (Papaver orientale or Papaver bracteatum), which there is as an ornamental plant, it could not be. It has to be about the Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) act. This annual flower has purple petals with a darker spot in the lower middle.
opium poppy
This opium poppy is related to the poppy and is one of the oldest crops, because it has been around since 6000 BC. Cultivated in Southern Europe as a crop. Due to the high content of the Alkaloids codeine, morphine and thebaine It is one of the most important medicinal plants in the history of medicine and was considered due to these ingredients as an effective remedy for pain and insomnia, but they can also be addictive.
A particularly high concentration of morphine contains the dried milk juice of the immature poppy capsule, the opium, The Greek doctor Hippocrates is said to have used this for a potion against ulcers. In addition, opium was then an important component of a drug that was supposed to help against plague and contagious fever.
The seeds, seed pods, leaves, flowers and the sap of poppy seeds were also used. The application was carried out internally as well as externally in the form of pills, ointments, oils, balms, patches and Latwerge (these are tough, sugary masses). For example, the poppy seeds were taken with wine for diarrhea.
Because the black, nutty tasting poppy seed rich in unsaturated fatty acids and minerals, they are still used today for confectionery and confectionery. However, this comes from Back poppy of opium-poor poppies and contains virtually no morphine. An edible oil is also made from it. However, as the imported poppy could be contaminated with morphine-containing milk juice due to harvesting, infants and pregnant women should refrain from eating foods with a larger poppy content!
Today used for pharmaceutical purposes morphine is obtained from the dried aerial parts of the poppy plant, the poppy straw. Morphine must be extracted, crystallized and purified several times before it can be used to relieve pain in cancers.
In Germany is opium as a drug approved for the treatment of diarrhea, but because opium poppy is not cultivated for us due to the climatic conditions for the production of opium, the raw material for the preparation comes from abroad.
In Germany, both commercial and private cultivation of opium poppy has been subject to authorization and fees since 1971 and is restricted to varieties with a low morphine content of less than 0.02%. The cultivation of opium poppy takes place only in 45 farms on a total area of about 60 hectares for the purpose of semen production and for floristic purposes.
Poppies as ornamental plants?
who Poppies as ornamental plants planting in their own garden requires approval from the Federal Opium Agency at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) for certain varieties. This is subject to charges, limited to a maximum area of 10 square meters and is valid for only two years. Without such approval, this would be a violation of the Narcotics Act. The Garden poppy varieties, such as For example, the perennial poppy "Papaver orientale" can be planted without permission.
