Papaver L. sect. Papaver, L.

Elvebakk, Arve & Bjerke, Jarle W., 2024, Papaver recircumscribed: A review of neighbouring Papaveraceae genera, including Afropapaver nom. et stat. nov. and Oreomecon, a large, Arctic-Alpine genus, PhytoKeys 248, pp. 105-188 : 105-188

7.1. Papaver L. sect. Papaver , Sp. Pl. 1: 506. 1753

Type species.

Papaver somniferum L.

Notes.

This section includes four species and one subspecies, according to the monograph by Kadereit (1986 b). However, the section was not monophyletic, according to Carolan et al. (2006). Based on seed morphology, Jesus et al. (2023) recently showed archaeological evidence of the cultivation of Papaver somniferum in Europe dating back about seven millennia. During the first millennia, seeds indicating the wild and weedy morphotype were mostly treated as P. somniferum subsp. setigerum (DC.) Arcang. , were dominant and, after a transition period, the cultivated morphotype became dominant about 3000 years ago. This selection towards larger seeds appears from these data to be primarily a result of human domestication and not one of vicariant evolution. The latter is a major criterion applied for the subspecies category by POWO (2023). However, Hong et al. (2022) convincingly proved that the wild type is genetically clearly distinct and in a sister group position to P. somniferum , coupled with the morphological difference shown by Kadereit (1986 b). As indicated by Liu et al. (2020), it is unlikely that the tetraploid wild type is the progenitor of the diploid P. somniferum . We, therefore, interpret the wild-growing taxon as the separate species P. setigerum DC.