Opium poppy
Papaver; Greek mēkōn; the juice, opion
- Known today as
- Papaver somniferum; opium is the dried latex of its unripe seed heads.
- Kind
- Plant, in 3 older authorities
- Constituents
- morphine, codeine, thebaine, and 2 more
- Poisoning
- Opioid poisoning
- Earliest authority here
- Dioscorides (c. AD 40–90)
- Qualities
- Cold and dry in the fourth degree (Galen): the extreme of cold among the simples. What the degrees mean
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Caution. Addictive; overdose stops the breath.
Opium poppy: what does modern science say?
The source of morphine and codeine, among the most important medicines ever found, and of the whole crisis of opioid addiction.
Opium poppy: is it poisonous?
Yes, in some form or dose. Addictive; overdose stops the breath. Its poisoning is opioid poisoning: Minutes to an hour. Historical description, not medical advice; in a poisoning, call a poison centre.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- Mechanism
- Morphine acts at the μ-opioid receptors of the brain and gut: analgesia, euphoria, constipation, and the slowing of breath.
- Checked against ChEMBL
- Toxic dose
- About 200 mg of morphine by mouth in the unaccustomed; far more in the tolerant.
- Syndrome
- Opioid poisoning
- Standing
- Morphine and codeine are on the WHO list of essential medicines; opium tincture is a controlled drug.
- Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies, 11th ed. (2019). Standard reference work
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
What Medicine Makes of It
- The Witches’ OintmentNightshades on the skin, and what they do.
Opium poppy: what lore surrounds it?
The poppy belonged to Hypnos and Morpheus, sleep and dreams; some have seen Homer’s nepenthe in it (see Nepenthe).
The red poppy of Flanders Fields and Remembrance Day is the corn poppy, Papaver rhoeas, a different species from Canale’s opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and it carries none of its narcotic latex. The two are often run together, but the symbol of remembrance belongs to the field weed, not to the source of opium.
Used in These Compounds
Opium poppy is an ingredient of 3 compound medicines in the database. For Club members. Create a free account or sign in.
Opium poppy: what did the older authorities say?
- Dioscorides
- Describes cutting the unripe heads to gather the tears of juice, and warns that too much brings a sleep from which there is no waking.
- Paracelsus
- Gave the name laudanum to a potent remedy he carried; the tincture of opium in wine later took the name.
- Thomas Sydenham
- The seventeenth-century English physician praised opium as the most universal and effective of the remedies God had given for suffering.
Sources
- Dioscorides, De materia medica. Read in part · the text read
- Galen, On the Powers of Simple Medicines. Primary text
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the fifty-entry sample
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- The mechanism read against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37): curated mechanisms and measured activity
- Sources
- 3 cited: 1 read in part, 1 primary text, 1 standard reference work.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026
- Chicago
“Opium poppy.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 25, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/opium-poppy.
- MLA
“Opium poppy.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 25 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/opium-poppy. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Opium poppy. (2026, September 25). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/opium-poppy
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See Also
Poisoned alike: opioid poisoning
Paregoric · Nepenthe · Theriac · Mithridate · Diascordium · Laudanum · Dover’s powder · the syndrome, with all of them →
Also in Dioscorides
Orache in Dioscorides · Mullein in Dioscorides · Oregano and squinanth in Dioscorides · Melon root in Dioscorides · everything Dioscorides names →
Also in Paracelsus
Quicksilver in Paracelsus · Weapon-salve in Paracelsus · Salt in Paracelsus · Sulfur in Paracelsus · everything Paracelsus names →
Also in Thomas Sydenham
Iron and steel in Thomas Sydenham · everything Thomas Sydenham names →
Drawing on the same sources: Dioscorides, Galen
Opopanax · Oak galls · Terra sigillata · Armenian bole · the bibliography →
Of the same qualities: cold and dry
Quince · Endive · Rose · Coral, red · Sandalwood · Chicory · what the degrees mean →
Nearby in the alphabet
Onycha and stacte (Ingredients of the Temple incense (Exodus 30) · Onion (Allium cepa) · Olive-wood ash lye (Lye made by steeping the ash of olive wood in river water) · Orpiment and realgar (Yellow and red arsenic sulfides) · Olive oil and holy water (Fine olive oil)
Historical description, not medical advice.