**Description:**
– Plants in Papaveraceae may be annual, biennial, or perennial.
– They are usually herbaceous, but some form shrubs or evergreen trees.
– The plants are laticiferous, producing latex.
– Simple leaves are alternate or whorled.
– Flowers in Papaveraceae are hermaphroditic and pollinated by insects.
**Taxonomy:**
– The family is placed in the order Ranunculales.
– Shares characteristics with other families in the clade eudicots.
– Forms a clade with Lardizabalaceae, Circaeasteraceae, and others.
– Presence of isoquinoline-derived alkaloids.
– Includes Papaveraceae, Fumariaceae, and Pteridophyllaceae.
**Genera:**
– APG III system broadens Papaveraceae to include Fumariaceae and Pteridophyllaceae.
– Former families may be treated as subfamilies.
– Recent studies suggest division into two subfamilies.
– Internal division follows specific studies.
– Includes genera like Corydalis, Dicentra, and Eschscholzia.
**Phytochemistry:**
– Isoquinolinic alkaloids are well known in Papaveraceae.
– Derived from various compounds like berberine and protopine.
– Pharmacological properties include derivatives of morphinan and pavine.
– Fumarioideae contains spirobenzylisoquinoline and cularine.
– Mexican prickly poppy is known for its alkaloids.
**Additional Information:**
– Papaveraceae have a basic chromosome number ranging from 6 to 11.
– The family has a distinct calyx and corolla in its flowers.
– The gynoecium consists of a compound pistil with 2 to 100 carpels.
– The non-fleshy fruit is usually a capsule.
– Seeds have oily and farinose endosperm.
**Fossil Record:**
– Fossils found in late Cretaceous deposits in North America.
– Palaeoaster inquirenda fossils found in New Mexico and North Dakota.
– Dehiscent fruit fossils of Palaeoaster discovered with Tyrannosaurus rex specimen.
– Papaver somniferum is a source of poppy seeds and poppy seed oil.
– Illegal poppy cultivation in Asia equals legal production worldwide.
**Symbolism:**
– Opium poppy and corn poppy symbolize sleep and death.
– Corn poppy worn in remembrance of World War I in several countries.
The Papaveraceae /pəˌpævəˈreɪsiˌiː/ are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates (mostly in the northern hemisphere), but almost unknown in the tropics. Most are herbaceous plants, but a few are shrubs and small trees. The family currently includes two groups that have been considered to be separate families: Fumariaceae and Pteridophyllaceae. Papaver is the classical name for poppy in Latin.
| Papaveraceae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Papaveraceae Juss. |
| Genera | |
|
See text | |