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Papaver somniferum
|  Botanical name: Papaver somniferum
Better known as: Opium poppy
Family name: Papaveraceae (Poppy family)
Natural habitat: Southern Europe, Asia, Middle East
The Papaver Somniferum is the source of opium and its entheogenic history started approximately 4000 years ago. Artifacts of one of the oldest civilisations of the world, the Sumerians, found in Persia, close to the Mediterranean sea, show drawings of poppy’s together with euforic scenes. Written sources dated 3400 B.C. of the same people, refer to the plant as ‘Hul Gil’ which means ‘flower of luck’. All proofs that the Sumerians knew how to harvest opium:
Raw opium is harvested by notching the unripe seedpod of a plant that has blossomed and collecting the coagulated wound juice. This milky white juice contains a number of alkaloids of which codeine and morphine are most important. By purification you can get morphine out of it and by chemical purification heroine. A grownup plant contains the alkaloids morphine, codeine, papaverine en thebaine. Opium is the name for the mixture of all these substances and is almost all over the world, because of its high addictive effects, ‘non grata’.
The old Egyptians were the first to trade in opium. They started cultivating P. somniferum on huge scale and quickly the smoking of opium became an everyday habit. Even Pharaohs where buried with opium artifacts. The Egyptians propagated their opium mainly as a narcotic. In the 7th century after Christ opium landed in China, where it was used as a diarrhea inhibitor. Thanks to the Dutch colonists this sedative medicine soon became a common intoxicant – with all the social consequences thinkable… Europe had to wait up to 1525 for the introduction of opium. It was then popular as a medicinal mix drink that carried the name Laudanum. Grownups as well as children drank it to for insomnia- and painkilling reasons. You could simply purchase it at your local pharmacy!
Even though the trade in opiates and in-laws is illigal, the seed of the Papaver Somniferum can be freely traded. The reason for this is that these are opiate-free – in contrast to the plant. The seeds are called ‘Lilac single’ or, more common, Opium Poppy seeds. It is frequently used in baking products because of its outspoken taste. The oil that can be made out of the seeds was formerly used by art painters to make artificial ‘cracks’.
The name Papaver Somniferum is Latin and means literally sleep (somnus) bringing (ferre). | 
Papaver somniferum is a simple plant to cultivate. Plant the seeds late winter/early spring, after the last frost, just below the surface. Indoors in a big pot or simply in the garden, with a good fertilization and drainage. Keep moist until germination starts. Moderate after that in connection with root rot. A grown up Papaver somniferum longs a lot of sun and a solid protection is recommended: even the slightest wind can caus ‘bold’ flowers. Be sure to catch the seedpods when they are ripened and ready to pop open if you want to keep the plant in its place.
The Papaver somniferum can grow up to approximately 1m in length. Flourishes every year in summer (June and August) and the seeds ripen in the fall. The flowers can posses colors that vary from white to purple and every possible shade of red and pink in between.
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