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Wild poppies (Papaver rhoeas)

Growing in barleyfield > Link.

The poppy is Norfolk's county flower and can be found growing in abundance, although modern agriculture has decreased its range. 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'.

Also called red poppy, corn poppy, field poppy of Flanders poppy, or Red Poppy this is the poppy which can be found growing wild in agricultural cultivations. Poppies were grown for ornamental purposes since 5,000 BE in Mesopotamia, they were found in Egyptian tombs and in Greek mythology, the poppy was associated with Demeter, the goddess of fertility and agriculture. The plant has also been used for medicinal purposes: the alkaloid rhoeadine, derived from the flowers of the corn poppy, is used as a mild sedative; the stem contains a milky sap which may cause irritation of the skin. In Commonwealth countries the red poppy has become associated with wartime remembrance, especially during Remembrance Day. They are also a symbol of military veterans of WW1.