Common poppy

Red petals among the corn are a classic image of the Polish summer – and a symbol of remembrance for the soldiers of Monte Cassino.

The common poppy is an annual with a hairy stem 30–80 cm tall and large, bright red flowers with a black blotch at the base of the petals. It flowers from May to July, most often at the edges of cereal fields, on roadsides and fallow land. After flowering it forms a distinctive capsule filled with hundreds of tiny seeds that can survive in the soil for decades. Unlike the opium poppy it contains no significant amounts of opium alkaloids, and its petals were once used for dyeing and in herbal medicine.

Significance in the country

The poppy took root in Polish memory through the song “Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino” (“The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino”), which commemorates the soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps. It is also a constant motif in folk paper cut-outs, embroidery and village wreaths.

Where it grows

Throughout the country in arable fields, field margins, embankments and roadsides; most abundant where farming is less intensive and herbicides are used less often.

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