Many poppy species are grown in gardens for their beauty. Some have been used since ancient times to make medicines — especially Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy, which is still widely grown around the world for making medicines. It is worth mentioning that the Sumerians domesticated this flower around 4500 BC and used it as a medicine; this knowledge passed from the Sumerians to the Greeks, Egyptians, Indians and other peoples. In history, great and famous wars have been fought over the trade in this substance.
Kurdish name
Bûkegul or bûkîk. The author recalls that as a child in the Duhok region they called the red poppy bîtanok — anything very red was said to be “as red as a bîtanok”.
Scientific name
The genus name is Papaver. Each species has its own scientific name, and all of them begin with Papaver.
Height
30 to 90 cm, but some species, such as Papaver orientale, grow as tall as 120 cm.
Written by Weysî Silêman Elî · Last updated 28 September 2026
