Botany and Cultivation

Nowadays, around 200 species of the poppy genus (Latin, Papaver) are known. The poppy is found across almost the whole land area of the Earth, initially excepting South America. During the First World War, the American Mafia feared being cut off from supplies of the raw material by the intensified war at sea, and therefore had poppy fields planted, first in Mexico and later in Colombia. 

Important areas for growing poppy legally are found in India and Australia, followed by the USA, Turkey, Spain and France. In terms of output of opium, the most important producers are Afghanistan, Pakistan and the countries of the Golden Triangle , namely Myanmar (Burma), Laos and Thailand. 

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The tree onion is winter hardy. Thus, in Sweden it can easily winter in the field as far north as Uppsala. Since a larger number of bulbils can be obtained from each plant, the material needed for a year of experimental work may be grown in a small garden. For more information about the botany and cultivation of the tree onion, the reader is referred to the book Onions and Their Allies by Jones and Mann (1963). 

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