Herbs or shrubs with milky latex or yellowish juice, annual, biennial or perennial;
hairs simple, barbellate or stellate. Leaves exstipulate, mostly basal in a rosette, simple,
pinnatifid, pinnatisect or palmately lobed; stem leaves usually few, alternate, rarely
opposite. Flowers on leafless scapes or in leafy racemes or panicles, bisexual, actinomorphic, nodding in bud, showy. Sepals 2 (-3), free or rarely united at base, imbricate,
caducous. Petals 4 -
6 (rarely 8 -12 or absent), in 1 - 2 (-3) whorls, free, imbricate, often
crumpled at first. Stamens many, free; anthers longitudinally dehiscing; filaments
filiform or winged. Ovary superior, 1-loculed or apparently 2 - 10-loculed by intrusive
placentae; ovules many on parietal placentae, rarely solitary and basal; style usually 1
or absent; stigmas of different forms, usually connatc, capitate, rarely free or sessile on
ovary as lobed disc. Fruit a capsule, dehiscing by 2 -
10 pores or valves; seeds small,
numerous.
Temperate and subtropical N. America, Europe, Asia and a few in Australia and
South Africa; 26 genera and about 200 specics; 5 genera and 27 species in India.
Literature.
DEBNATH, H. S. & M. P. NAYAR (1984) Papaveraceae & Hypecoaceae. In: Fasc. Fl. India 17: 1 - 48, ff. 1 - 18. DEBNATH, H. S. & M. P. NAVAR (1986.) The Poppies of Indian Region, pp. 1 - 192, ff. 1 - 42. FEDDE, F. (1909) Papaveraceae, Hypecoideae & Papaveroideae. In: Engler, pflanzenr. 40 (IV. 104): 1 - 430, ff. 1 - 43. JAFFRI, S. M. H. & M. QAISER (1974) Papaveraceae. In: Fl. W. Pakistan 61: 1 - 32, ff. 1 - 6. STEENIS, C. G. G. J. van (1954) Papaveraceae. In: Fl. Males. 1, 5: 114 - 117, ff. 1 - 2.
KEY TO THE GENERA
1a. Stigmatic lobes alternate to placentae; capsules opening throughout its length
2
b. Stigmatic lobes opposite to placentae; capsules usually opening hy pores or by short valves, rarely
throughout its length
3
2a. Leaves ternately dissected into narrow segments; sepals forming a hood or calyptra-like cap; stigmas 4-6
