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    Opium Poppy

    Common · Papaver somniferum

    Healing · Alchemical · Magical · Psychoactive · Poisonous

    Terrain Grassland, Hills, Urban

    Description

    The opium poppy is a vigorous herbaceous plant growing up to about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. The entire plant contains the milky white sap. The stem is erect, with abundant foliage, bluish-green in color. The leaves are also bluish-green, broad, elliptical, and sharply toothed, with bases that clasp the stem. There can be anywhere from one to ten flowers, which are large and found at the top of the stem and branch tips. The corolla has four lobes, with broadly oval petals. Poppy petals vary in color (white, purple, red, pink), but in the opium variety they are only white. At the petal base, there are typically darkercolored spots compared to the rest of the petal. The fruit of the poppy is a rounded capsule. The seeds can be white or pale yellow (in opium varieties), or blue, gray, or grayishblack (in oilseed varieties). The seed capsules of the opium poppy contain alkaloids, the most important of which is morphine.

    Location and Habitat

    The opium poppy favors temperate climates with warm summers and cool winters. This makes it suitable for cultivation in countries with moderate weather conditions. Its main growing regions are agricultural areas where it is cultivated on a large scale.

    Rarity and Availability

    The opium poppy is not rare in the regions where it is cultivated. In fact, it is grown quite extensively for commercial purposes, primarily for its seeds, opium, and pharmaceutical alkaloids.

    Effects and Uses

    The alkaloid morphine has powerful painrelieving and anti-shock properties. In large doses, it can induce a sedative effect. Morphine produces a strong sense of euphoria, and repeated use leads to dependence and addiction.

    Harvesting & Preparation

    • Raw Sap (Opium Gum). Obtained by carefully scoring the green seed pods. This sticky sap is the most potent form and is often processed into small resin balls or dissolved into tinctures.
    • Dried Petals & Seeds . Less potent than raw sap, though still useful for teas and mild sedatives. Gathering Difficulty . Harvesting the poppy sap requires a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check or Intelligence (Nature) check to avoid damaging the pods or extracting too little sap. Failure may yield no sap or a useless amount.

    Items & Effects

    • Poppy Tincture.
      • Creation . Requires 1 hour of brewing using raw sap, an herbalist’s kit, and a DC 15 Wisdom (herbalism kit) check. On a success, enough tincture is made for 2 doses.
      • Use. When ingested, a single dose has potent effects:
        • Pain Relief. The creature gains resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks for 1 minute. However, because of the mild numbness and relaxation, they also have disadvantage on Dexterity checks for the duration.
        • Sedation. At the end of the duration, the creature must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion from drowsiness.
    • Poppy Seed Tea.
      • Creation. Steeping dried poppy seeds and petals in hot water for 10 minutes.
      • Use. When ingested:
        • Calming Warmth. The drinker gains advantage on saving throws against the frightened condition for 1 hour; PHB, p. 290.
        • Tranquil Demeanor. For the same duration, the creature has disadvantage on Initiative checks.
    • Morpheus Draught.
      • Creation. Extended refinement of poppy sap over several hours, requiring an alchemical setup and a DC 18 Intelligence (alchemist’s supplies) check to avoid spoilage or accidental overdose.
      • Use. When imbibed:
        • Potent Sleep. The creature immediately falls into a deep sleep (as if affected by the sleep spell, PHB, p.276). They remain unconscious for 1 minute and cannot be awakened by nondamaging means (e.g., they automatically fail Wisdom (Perception) checks).
        • Pain Suppression. For 1 hour after they awaken, the creature takes only half damage from critical hits. However, they have disadvantage on all concentration checks due to lingering grogginess.

    Lore

    The opium poppy is an annual herb of the Papaveraceae family. Depending on the variety, it may be included on the list of prohibited plants because it contains opium—a powerful narcotic substance. However, at present, safe varieties of the poppy are used in agriculture to produce poppy seeds.

    According to the legends of ancient European peoples inhabiting areas around medieval Greece and Rome, the opium poppy was created especially for the goddess of earthly fertility, Demeter. It served her as a form of consolation, offering forgetfulness and thus easing the terrible anguish she experienced after her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld.

    As the story goes, Demeter’s husband, Zeus, asked Morpheus, the god of sleep, to create a flower that would soothe and distract his wife from her sorrow. This is how the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) was born— long regarded as a flower of sleep and oblivion.

    From Witch’s Herbs 5E, p. 72 · Fern Flower Press