Poppy - Hungarian Blue Breadseed
Papaver somniferum. With delicate, large purple flowers, these are one of our favorite flowers to grow. Hungarian Blue Breadseed Poppy has been grown in Europe for centuries for culinary use, so the capsules don't spill their seeds when ripe. The seed capsules are fun to snap off during harvest, and to shake like a rattle, imagining the hundreds of seeds inside each one. Breadseed poppies are lower in medicinal compounds that ornamental somniferum poppies, and higher in seed production. Very nutritious. Poppy seeds have been produced since nearly the dawn of agriculture and have been used in culinary creations all over the world as a spice, condiment, garnish, thickening agent, dessert base, and even as a component of dinner entrees. Easily grown, and yielding hundreds of thousands of seeds from just a small patch, breadseed poppy is a two-for: an exceptionally beautiful bloom that leads to a harvest of health-giving seeds.