Polish makowiec cake. The dark filling is made mainly from poppy seeds.

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The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of poppy from which opium and all refined opiates such as morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine are extracted. The binomial name means, loosely, the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to its narcotic properties. more...

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The seeds are important food items, and contain healthy oils used in salads worldwide. The plant is also important for ornamental use.

Varieties

Papaver somniferum is a species of plant with many sub-groups or varieties. Colors of the flower vary widely, as do other physical characteristics such as number and shape of petals, number of pods, production of morphine, etc.

Papaver somniferum Paeoniflorum Group (sometimes called Papaver paeoniflorum) is a sub-type of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double, and are grown in many colors. Papaver somniferum Laciniatum Group (sometimes called Papaver laciniatum) is a sub-type of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double and deeply lobed, to the point of looking like a ruffly pompon.

A few of the varieties, notably the "Norman" and "Przemko" varieties, have "low morphine" content (less than one percent), making them markedly less useful for drug production. Most varieties, however, including those most popular for ornamental use or seed production, have a higher morphine content.

Legality

In the United States, opium is listed as a Schedule II controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration. In addition, "Opium poppy and poppy straw" are also prohibited. However, this is not typically enforced for poppies grown or sold for ornamental or food purposes.

Opium poppy cultivation in the United Kingdom does not need a license, however, a license is required for those wishing to extract opium for medicinal products.

Use as food

The seeds of the poppy are widely used as the popular "poppy seed" found in and on many food items such as bagels, bialys, muffins and cakes. The seeds can be pressed to form poppyseed oil, which can be used in cooking, or as a carrier for oil-based paints.

Although the amount of opiates in poppy seeds is not enough to produce a narcotic effect in cooking or consumption, the television show MythBusters demonstrated that one could test positive for narcotics after consuming 4 poppy seed bagels. The show Brainiac: Science Abuse had subjects that tested positive with only 2 poppy seed bagels. This situation was parodied on the show Seinfeld.