TURKISH RED POPPY

Papaver somniferum is an annual poppy native to the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia, grown for centuries across Europe and Asia Minor as both an ornamental and a source of culinary seed. The Turkish Red strain produces large, single or semi-double blooms in a deep crimson with a characteristic dark basal blotch, held on tall, glaucous stems above blue-green foliage. Plants self-sow readily where happy, naturalizing quietly through a garden over time. The dried seedheads are architecturally attractive and the ripe seeds are mild, nutty, and edible — the same type used in traditional baking throughout the region.