Papaver Somniferum L
In 1852, the British arrived in Lower Burma and started to import large quantities of opium from India. It was then sold through a government-controlled opium monopoly, regulated by “The Opium Act”, 1878). Around 1874, “poppy” cultivation (Papaver somniferum L plants) and opium production increased along the highlands of Southeast Asia. The cultivation of “poppy” in Myanmar’s Borderlands continues until today. On different occasions, I was able to visit some fields in the mountainous areas - and was amazed how beautiful the flowers are when in bloom.
STILL STANDING TALL: Dried up Poppy stems, after the harvest of the coagulated juice of the capsules (“opium”).
READY FOR HARVESTING: when the sap is oozing from the fine cuts made on the capsule.
POPPY PEDALS: Thin and smooth as silk.
THE SCRATCHING OF THE CAPSULES has to be done with great care as deep cuts would injure the plant to the extend that it would wither.
