Editing Poppy (section)

==Symbolism==
[[File:Vincent van Gogh - Field with Poppies (1889).jpg|thumb|''Field with Poppies'', 1889, by [[Vincent van Gogh]]]]
Poppies have long been used as a symbol of sleep, peace, and [[death]]: Sleep because the opium extracted from them is a [[sedative]], and death because of the common blood-red colour of the red poppy in particular.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poppy Mythology |url=https://www.poppymythology.com/ |access-date=12 December 2023 |website=www.poppymythology.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In [[Greek mythology|Greek]] and [[Roman mythology|Roman]] myths, poppies were used as offerings to the dead.<ref name=autogenerated1>L. Frank Baum, Michael Patrick Hearn, ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'', p. 173, {{ISBN|0-517-50086-8}}</ref> Poppies used as emblems on [[headstone|tombstones]] symbolize eternal sleep. This symbolism was evoked in [[L. Frank Baum]]'s 1900 children's novel ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'', in which a magical poppy field threatened to make the protagonists sleep forever.<ref name=autogenerated1/>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Blood Swept Lands And Seas Of Red 9 Aug 2014.JPG|thumb|left|The ''[[Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red]]'' exhibit at the [[Tower of London]], which consists of 888,246 ceramic poppies, one for each British and colonial death<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29642463 "Queen visits Tower of London poppy garden"]. BBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2014</ref>]] -->
A second interpretation of poppies in [[Classical mythology]] is that the bright scarlet colour signifies a promise of [[resurrection]] after death.<ref>[[Robert Graves]], ''The Greek Myths'', 24. 15 p. 96, {{ISBN|0-14-001026-2}}</ref>

Red-flowered poppy is unofficially considered the national flower of the [[Albanians]] in [[Albania]], [[Kosovo]] and elsewhere. This is due to its red and black colours, the same as the colours of the flag of Albania. Red poppies are also the national flower of [[Poland]]. The California poppy, ''[[Eschscholzia californica]]'', is the state flower of California.<ref>{{Cite web |title=California Poppy |url=https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Plants/California-Poppy |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=wildlife.ca.gov}}</ref>

The powerful symbolism of ''Papaver rhoeas'' has been borrowed by various advocacy campaigns, such as the [[White Poppy]] and [[Simon Topping]]'s black poppy.

===Wartime remembrance===
{{main|Remembrance poppy}}
[[Image:Lest we forget.jpg|thumb|A Canadian [[remembrance poppy]] worn on the lapel]]
The [[Remembrance poppy|poppy of wartime remembrance]] is ''[[Papaver rhoeas]]'', the red-flowered corn poppy. This poppy is a common [[Ruderal species|plant]] of [[disturbed ground]] in Europe and is found in many locations, including [[Flanders]], which is the setting of the famous poem "[[In Flanders Fields]]" by the Canadian surgeon and soldier [[John McCrae]]. In Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, artificial poppies (plastic in Canada, paper in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Malta and New Zealand) are worn to commemorate those who died in war. This form of commemoration is associated with [[Remembrance Day]], which falls on 11 November. In Canada, Australia and the UK, poppies are often worn from the beginning of November through to the 11th, or Remembrance Sunday if that falls on a later date. In New Zealand and Australia, soldiers are also commemorated on [[ANZAC day]] (25 April),<ref name="Seal2004">{{cite book |author=Graham Seal |title=Inventing Anzac: the digger and national mythology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z40eykeP_IMC&pg=PA105 |access-date=18 September 2010 |year=2004 |publisher=Univ. of Queensland Press |isbn=978-0-7022-3447-7 |pages=105–}}</ref> although the poppy is still commonly worn around Remembrance Day. Wearing of poppies has been a custom since 1924 in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legion.org/troops/216371/legion-family-flower-remembrance |title=Legion Family flower of remembrance |website=The American Legion}}</ref> [[Moina Michael]] of Georgia is credited as the founder of the Memorial Poppy in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Miss Moina Michael |url=http://www.cal-mum.com/poppy.htm#Moina |access-date=8 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027152736/http://www.cal-mum.com/poppy.htm#Moina |archive-date=27 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="BookInc2003">{{cite book |author1=World Book |author2=Inc |title=The World Book dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oPW_pTjpeCQC&pg=PA1622 |access-date=18 August 2010 |year=2003 |publisher=World Book.com |isbn=978-0-7166-0299-6 |pages=1622–}}</ref><ref name="United States of America Congressional Record">{{cite book |title=United States of America Congressional Record |date=13 February 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbK9zpJ1ipEC&pg=PA10121 |access-date=18 August 2010 |publisher=Government Printing Office |pages=10121– |isbn=9780160825637 |id=GGKEY:8F7NFQJ525R}}</ref>

Artificial poppies (called "Buddy Poppies") are used in the veterans' aid campaign by the [[Veterans of Foreign Wars]], which provides money to the veterans who assemble the poppies and various aid programs to veterans and their families.<ref name="vfw">{{cite web |url=http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=cmty.levelc&cid=127 |title=Veterans of Foreign Wars Buddy Poppy Website |website=vfw.org |access-date=29 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807015526/http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=cmty.levelc&cid=127 |archive-date=7 August 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>