Red Poppy Flower Petals (Papaver rhoeas)

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Red poppy (Papaver rhoeas) has been found in Egyptian tombs dating back several millennia. This flower was supposedly often combined with the flowers of blue lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and is now an often-used component of many incense blends due to its gentle aromatic qualities.

Our poppy comes from the same private, organic farm that grows our exclusive Blue Lotus petals.

Also known as Field Poppy, Wild Poppy, Rose Poppy, Headache Flower, Shirley Poppy (after a location in England), Canker Flower, Copper Rose, Red Weed, or Redfield, Red Poppy is sometimes called Corn Poppy, Corn Rose, Corn Flower, or Demeter's Flower -- this last because the Greeks and Romans encouraged it to self-seed in ploughed ground amidst grains with the belief that Demeter, goddess of fertility, would not allow the ground to produce bounty without the presence of poppies. Because of its wartime associations, Red poppy is also called American Legion Poppy, Memorial Day Poppy, or Flanders Poppy.

Red poppy has many color varieties but the wild form is a vibrant, striking red. Although red poppy is an annual, it self-seeds quite easily, and will likely never need replanting. Native to Eurasia, it is naturalized in many areas of North America.

In ancient Greece and Rome, the red poppy symbolized the Goddess Demeter (Ceres). Myth holds that she either found the poppy in a distant place while wandering the world looking for her daughter, or when the gods, one by one, attempted to ease her anguish over the loss of Persephone, with Hypnos (Somnus) finally creating the red poppy hoping it would assist the Great Mother in obtaining rest. Persephone's pomegranate, which yielded only three seeds during her stay in Tartarus, was originally a seedpod of the same red poppy. The twin underworld gods, Thanatos and Hypnos, were frequently depicted with poppies, which may have been an acknowledgement of the two best known poppies: Hypnos of the red poppy, and Thanatos of the deadly and addictive poppy.

This product is not intended or sold for ingestion by humans or animals. It is sold only for use as an incense or for smoking. WARNING: Smoking anything, including herbal products of any kind, are harmful to the body.