Opium poppy `Zeno Morphex` - seeds

This poppy is a fascinating, beautiful ornament and provides the delicious seeds for the classic cake.

50+ seeds per portion.

The 'Zeno Morphex' variety was specifically bred as a low-morphine strain for food production. Nevertheless, cultivation in Germany is subject to strict legal requirements!

IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE: Cultivation ban & mandatory authorization! In Germany, every variety of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) falls under the Narcotics Act (BtMG) – even low-morphine cultivated varieties like 'Zeno Morphex'.

• Strict cultivation ban: It is generally forbidden for private individuals and farmers to sow or plant this poppy without permission.

• Mandatory authorization: Even for a single plant in a home ornamental garden, you must obtain a permit (subject to a fee) from the Federal Opium Agency (BfArM) before sowing. Illegal cultivation is a criminal offense!

Growth & Appearance

• Lifespan: Annual.

• Growth height: An impressive 80 to 120 cm.

• Habit: Upright growth with striking blue-green, glaucous, and serrated leaves that clasp the stem.

• Flower & Fruit: From June to August, huge, paper-like flowers appear (mostly in delicate shades of pink or violet with a dark spot in the center). Afterwards, the distinctive, spherical to barrel-shaped poppy capsules form, containing the blue-black seeds.

Origin Opium poppy is an ancient crop that originally comes from the eastern Mediterranean, but has been cultivated throughout Europe since the Neolithic period.

Ingredients The blue poppy seeds themselves are completely free of opiates and instead extremely rich in valuable vegetable oils, proteins, calcium, and B vitamins. The milky plant sap of the wild form contains highly effective alkaloids (morphine, codeine). However, the 'Zeno Morphex' variety is specially bred so that its content of these substances is negligibly low.

Usage

• In the kitchen: The dried, ripe seeds are the classic "blue poppy seeds" for baking cakes, rolls, or desserts.

• Floristry: The dried poppy capsules are an extremely popular element for autumnal arrangements and dried bouquets.

Historical Opium poppy is one of humanity's oldest medicinal and cultivated plants. It has been used for over 6,000 years – both as a valuable, nutritious food (oil and seeds) and for pain relief.

Curiosities The botanical epithet somniferum translates to "sleep-inducing". 'Zeno Morphex' is a masterpiece of modern breeding: It allows farmers in Europe to grow regional baking poppy again without the fields being misused for illegal narcotic production.

Location, care & other important things

• Location: Full sun.

• Soil: Deep, permeable, and moderately nutrient-rich. Waterlogging is not tolerated at all.

• Care & Sowing (after obtaining authorization!): Poppies form a deep taproot and hate being transplanted. They should be sown directly in the open ground in the spring (March/April).