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CHAP. 77. (19.)—THE POPPY CALLED RHŒAS: TWO REMEDIES.

The poppy which we have1 spoken of under the names of "rhœas" and the "erratic" poppy, forms an intermediate variety between the cultivated and the wild poppy; for it grows in the fields, it is true, but it is self-set nevertheless. Some persons eat2 it, calyx and all, immediately after it is gathered. This plant is an extremely powerful purgative: five heads of it, boiled in three semi-sextarii of wine, and taken in drink, have the effect of producing sleep.

1 In B. xix. c. 53. The Papaver rhœas of Linnæus: the field poppy, corn poppy, or corn rose.

2 Theophrastus says that it has just the taste of wild endive. Fée remarks that the peasants of Treves eat the leaves of this poppy while young.

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