''Papaver setigerum'', common name poppy of Troy or dwarf breadseed poppy, is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...

of the family

Papaveraceae The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperat ...

. This plant is closely related to and sometimes treated as a subspecies of opium poppy (''

Papaver somniferum ''Papaver somniferum'', commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable orname ...

''). In fact it produces a very small amount of morphine alkaloids. However, ''P. somniferum'' is

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

(n=11) and ''P. setigerum'' is

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

(n=22) with twice the number of chromosomes. So it cannot be considered the wild ancestral species of the opium poppy.C. G. Farmilo, H. L. J. Rhodes, , H. R. L. Hart and, H. Taylor
Detection of Morphine in Papaver setigerum DC
/ref>

Etymology

The genus name is derived from the Latin word ''papaverum'' meaning “poppy”, while the specific name ''setigerum'' derives the Latin "saetiger" meaning “bristly” for the short bristle on the top of the lobes of its leaves.Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982. Vol. I, pag. 353

Description

''Papaver setigerum'' reaches on average in height. The stem is erect and the leaves are simple, oblong, the lower ones are sessile, deeply lobed and toothed, the higher ones shortly pedunculated. The flowers at the apex of the stem are

hermaphroditic In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separ ...

, actinomorphic ("star shaped", "radial"), 4 to 10 cm in diameter. The corolla forms a cup with four pink-purple petals, with a dark purple blotch at the base. It has several

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s with dark filaments holding yellow anthers. Flowering occurs from May through June in the northern hemisphere. The fruits are glabrous capsules 2 to 3 cm long, dehiscent along the holes located under the apical disc. The kidney-shaped seeds are about 1 mm wide.Acta Plantarum
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Distribution

This plant grows wild in the Mediterranean region, especially in southwestern Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece) and in North Africa.setigerum&PTRefFk=7500000 Euro+Med Plant Base
/ref> It occurs in south-eastern Australia as a garden escapee.

Habitat

This plant grows in pastures and fields, at an average altitude of above sea level.

Gallery

File:Papaver setigerum, Sainte-Lucie Island, Aude 01.jpg, ''Papaver setigerum'', plants with flowers in

Aude Aude (; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Ca ...

, France File:Papaveraceae - Papaver setigerum-3.JPG, Flower of ''Papaver setigerum'', lateral view File:Papaveraceae - Papaver setigerum-4.JPG, Flower of ''Papaver setigerum'', inside view File:Papaveraceae - Papaver setigerum-5.JPG, Fruit of ''Papaver setigerum'' File:Papaveraceae - Papaver setigerum.JPG, Leaf of ''Papaver setigerum''

References

* Tutin, T.G. et al. - Flora Europaea, second edition - 1993

External links

Biolib
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7132528 setigerum Invasive plant species in Japan