Poppy Flowers (Papaver rhoeas)

Poppy flowers, Papaver rhoeas, are an annual flower that is grown from seed. The plant bears an interesting seed pod that is hollow with holes at the top. If you shake the pod, you can hear the dried seeds rattle inside. The stems and leaves are a greyish-green color and perfectly set off the typically hot red flowers. There are usually four to six petals on each flower, and while the petals are mostly red, there is a little spot of black and white at the base of each petal. This flower is easy to grow, and the seed has been known to remain dormant in the soil, and may regrow later if the soil is disturbed. Red Poppy flowers are the ones made famous in the poem referencing them called "In Flander's Fields," which talked about poppies blooming in the fields where the battles of World War I were taking place, and they have been symbolic for military veterans ever since.