China: An opium smoker relaxing with opium equipment, teapot and tobacco pipe, c. 1910

Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine.

The Latin botanical name means the 'sleep-bringing poppy', referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.

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Pictures From History

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OPIUM