Common Poppy
Papaver rhoeas
Best Time to See: June, July, August, September
Habitat: Arable, Farmland
Colour: Red
The symbol of remembrance, the striking red flowers of the common poppy stand out from afar, painting entire fields vivid scarlet.
Habitat and distribution
Common throughout British Isles but rarer in North and West.
Did you know?
- Poppies seeds only sprout when the earth about them is disturbed, hence why so many grew on the battlefields of WWI.
- The Ancient Greeks and Persians associated poppies with love. The Romans were more practical: it was a sacred flower Ceres, goddess of agriculture.
- North Norfolk has long been known as Poppyland after an association made by the Victorian poet Clement Scott in his poem 'The Garden of Sleep'.
Conservation status
Poppies can be found across the country in the summer months, although modern agriculture has decreased its range.
