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Annual, biennial or perennial, caulescent or (not in Australia) scapose herbs from taproots; sap white, orange or red. Stems leafy. Leaves: basal leaves rosulate, petiolate; cauline leaves alternate, with the lower petiolate, the upper subsessile or sessile and sometimes stem-clasping; lamina 1–3 times pinnately lobed or dissected, usually toothed, scalloped or incised. Inflorescence cymiform, bracteate; flowers in clusters of 1–3 on long peduncles or (not in Australia) scapes; buds nodding or (not in Australia) erect. Flowers without hypanthium. Sepals 2, distinct, usually caducous. Petals 4 or rarely 6, obovate, often caducous. Ovary 1-locular; style absent; stigmas 3–18, radiating on a sessile, ± lobed disc, velvety. Capsule erect, subglobose to subcylindrical, 1-locular, incompletely multilocular by placental intrusion, 3–18-pored or (not in Australia)-short-valved beneath the persistent or sometimes deciduous stigmatic disc. Seeds many, minutely pitted; aril absent.
Herbs , annual, biennial, or perennial, scapose or caulescent, from taproots; sap white, orange, or red. Stems when present leafy. Leaves: basal rosulate, petiolate; cauline alternate, proximal leaves petiolate, distal subsessile or sessile, sometimes clasping (in P . somniferum ); blade unlobed or 1-3× pinnately lobed or parted; margins entire or toothed, scalloped, or incised. Inflorescences cymiform, with flowers disposed in 1s, 2s or 3s on long scapes or peduncles; bracts present; buds nodding [erect]. Flowers: sepals 2(-3), distinct; petals 4(-6); stamens many; pistil 3-18[-22]-carpellate; ovary 1-locular, sometimes incompletely multilocular by placental intrusion; style absent; stigmas 3-18[-22], radiating on sessile, ± lobed disc, velvety. Capsules erect, 3-18[-22]-pored or short-valved immediately beneath persistent or sometimes deciduous (in P . hybridum ) stigmatic disc. Seeds many, minutely pitted, aril absent. x = 7.
Annual herbs or root perennials, with white or coloured latex. Lvs simple and toothed to pinnatifid to 2-pinnatisect, glabrous or hispid, glaucous or green. Fls solitary or in lax leafy cymes; buds usually drooping. Sepals 2, entire, free, falling as fl. opens, not horned. Petals 4-(6), crumpled in bud, orange to red, sometimes lilac or white. Stigma lobes 4-18, forming a broad sessile stigmatic disc. Capsule ovate, clavate, orbicular or oblong, opening by pore-like valves just below stigmatic disc. Seeds reniform or comma-shaped, without aril.
Sep 2; pet normally 4, white or colored, our spp. never yellow; ovary of 4–many carpels, the placentas deeply intruded as partial partitions; stigmas as many as the carpels, sessile and radiating on a disk terminating the ovary; fr opening by small valves just below the margin of the stigmatic disk; seeds not arillate; herbs with milky or colored juice and large, usually long-peduncled fls terminating the stem and branches. 100, cosmop.Three cult. spp. that occasionally escape in our range are included in the key but not described
