'Ragged Red' Poppy

Papaver somniferum Origin: Unknown Improvement status: Cultivar Seeds per packet: ~250 Germination tested 10/2024: 95% Life cycle: Annual Poppies have long been one of humanity's most important plants, a source of both food and medicine. This variety comes to us from Aaron Parker at Edgewood Nursery in Maine. He got it without a name from a friend named Pete, so he calls it "Pete's Papaver," but we believe it is an uncommon variety known as 'Ragged Red.' The name aptly describes the flower petals, which are a bright crimson red (think the color of the poppies in The Wizard of Oz), and are deeply fringed. It makes for an especially beautiful flower. Like other poppies of the species Papaver somniferum, it produces a large amount of grey-blue seeds which are tasty in bread, on salads, or in baked goods. The seeds also produce an edible oil much prized in certain cultures for cooking with or raw use. Additionally, this species is probably most well-known as the source of opium (the narc