J. W. Kadereit (1990) suggested that Papaver rhoeas originated on the east coast of the Mediterranean, probably derived from one or more of the other species of the section that are native in that region, and only after (and because) "suitable habitats in sufficient extent were provided by man." Various forms with pale pink or white, unspotted, sometimes doubled petals are grown for ornament, notably the Shirley poppies. In North America, the species escapes from cultivation fairly readily and has been introduced also as a crop weed. Excluded species:
Papaver dahlianum Nordhagen, Bergens Mus. Årbok 2: 46. 1931
Papaver radicatum Rottbfll subsp. dahlianum (Nordhagen) Rändel
We regard this species as being restricted to arctic Europe, a narrower circumscription than U. Rändel's (1977).
Papaver microcarpum de Candolle, Syst. Nat. 2: 71. 1821
We are so far unable to substantiate D. Löve's (1969) report of this essentially Asiatic species "from Seward and Kenai peninsulas in Alaska, the Aleutian Islands."
