Corn poppy

The wild field poppy enjoys cultivated, disturbed soil, which is why swathes of scarlet blooms often appear in cornfields. The basic form has scarlet, single flowers, each petal often marked at its base with a black blotch. Size varies according to the soil in which plants grow, the poorer the soil, the smaller and paler the blooms. They make good cut flowers if gathered early in the morning just as the green sheath is falling from the petals, but the blooms don't last long. Plants self-seed readily.