- The red poppy's flowers have been used for medicinal syrups since the Middle Ages. "Flanders poppy" is another nickname for the red poppy. The fields of Flanders in western Belgium were the location for some of the bloodiest battles during WWI. During the war, no poppies could grow in the fields. When the war ended, the bright red bloom of the poppies overtook the ravaged fields. This symbolized the end of the war to many and the blood shed by the soldiers and gave the red poppy flowers their new name of Flanders poppy. The red poppy is also the symbol of the American Legion and is handed out on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day.
- The red poppy is native to most of North Africa and Eurasia. It is found as a popular wildflower in Central Europe and North America.
- Papaver rhoeas, or red poppy, grows in an inverted pyramid shape with large blood-red to scarlet blooms. The plant has many stiff branches with deeply notched and divided green leaves. The flowers are primarily red with a black base where they meet the stalk. They hang down when in bud and stand upright when in bloom. The fruit or capsule is smooth and pod-like in shape. It has no style and its stigma is convex with overlapping lobes.
- The height of the red poppy can reach up to two feet. Most plants in the field are from 12 to16 inches tall, with blooms two to three inches wide.
- The red poppy is an annual, usually flowering from late May to October. It has a heavy bloom and dies with the first frost. Seeds fall to the soil through the opening of pores in the capsule beneath the stigma. The seeds repopulate the area for the next season if the climate is temperate and soil conditions are similar. The red poppy prefers full to partial shade and a neutral or slightly acidic soil.
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