Happy Thought for 24 April 2024

Have a Happy Thought:

 You may be wondering why you’re getting this so early in the week, especially those of you not in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

 Tomorrow (25^th April) is the day we recognize Anzac Day, commemorating the soldiers of WWI (and has been expanded to remember all who have served and suffered in war).

The symbol of the day, and of the fallen, is the red poppy.

Papaver rhoeas, the red-flowered corn poppy. Image: Smithsonian Museum.

 Here are some strange things I have learned about poppies this week.

 Poppies mostly grow in temperate regions, but there is at least one species of poppy that thrives above the Arctic Circle.

Papaver nudicaule, the Icelandic Poppy. Image: W. Pfahler, CC BY-SA4.0  

 

Oh right, that means there must be more than one species of poppy – this is correct, there are over 70 different species!

 And not all of those species can be used to make opium… at least not easily. In case you’re wondering why it is you can buy poppies at your local gardening store.

 The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum (I love that name for it – like it’s ‘sandman poppy’) makes the most opium. And morphine. Which has been absolutely invaluable in controlled, medical uses.

Papaver somniferum, Hand coloured engraving, c.1838; plate XVII from Vol.3 of Reichenbachs Icones florae germanicae et helveticae... (1834-1914) https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/29571#page/59/mode/1up

 

But poppy seeds of all kinds can contain teeny bits of narcotic.

When I was in highschool, there were all sorts of rumours that you could get kicked off of the school sports team if you had a poppyseed muffin. (to my knowledge, no one ever tested this theory. But apparently it’s true that eating poppyseeds can give you a false positive on a drug test!).

 Poppies have been associated with death (and rebirth) for a very. long. Time.

There were poppies in King Tut’s tomb, and references to fallen soldiers as poppies in Homer’s Iliad.

 

Floral collar from Tutankhamun's Embalming Cache, made partly from poppies. Image: Metropolitan Museum

 

 And finally, although the bright red petals are taken to symbolise the blood of soldiers on the battlefield, the real reason poppies grew so well on WWI battlefields was…

Lime.

From the concrete.

From the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Oh, and also nitrogen from the munitions

 

So if you want some beautiful poppies in your garden, whether to commemorate those fallen in service, or to decorate your hamburger buns, or just because they’re beautiful…

Don’t worry about putting blood sweat and tears into your garden.

Some lime and fertilizer will do.

Image: Poppy field with multiple species of poppy. https://www.kingsseeds.co.nz/products/wildflower-poppy-fields-of-colour