Atlas Poppy agg. - Papaver atlanticum

An orange flowered poppy growing to 18 inches tall on upright stems. The leaves are mainly basal, wavy edged, blue green in colour and hairy. This is one of many cultivated plants that escapes into the wild and persists, at least for a time. These cultivated plants may have many different varieties or cultivars, and hybridisation is common so our images of garden escapes can only be said to be representative of the species.

Disturbed or open ground, usually close to habitation.

Flowering May to July.

Perennial.

Widespread but occasional in England as an escape from cultivation, it is commonest in the south east, less common elsewhere in Britain.

Infrequent as a garden escape in Leicestershire and Rutland. It was not recorded in The Flora of Leicestershire published in 1988.