Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Papaver hybridum L.

Family

Papaveraceae

Common Names

rough poppy, round prickly headed poppy, round pricklyhead poppy, round rough headed poppy

Origin

Native to northern Africa (i.e. northern Algeria, northern Egypt, northern Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), the Canary Islands, western and southern Europe (i.e. the UK, France, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia and southern Ukraine), western Asia and northern Pakistan.

Naturalised Distribution

This species is very widely naturalised in southern Australia (i.e. in southern Queensland, throughout New South Wales, in the ACT, in many parts of Victoria, in Tasmania, throughout most of South Australia, in southern and central Western Australia, and in the southern parts of the Northern Territory).

Also naturalised in some parts of the USA (i.e. California, South Carolina, North Carolina and Pennsylvania).

Notes

Rough poppy (Papaver hybridum) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. It is a common and widespread weed of crops, pastures, waste areas and disturbed sites in temperate and semi-arid areas. However, its also invades disturbed grasslands and open woodlands (i.e. rangelands and grazed arid zone woodlands).

Rough poppy (Papaver hybridum) has also occasionally spread into conservation areas in drier regions. For example, it has been reported growing in mulga vegetation in the Mallee Cliffs National Park, in south-western New South Wales, and has been recorded in Belair National Park, Morialta Conservation Park and Flinders Ranges National Park in South Australia.