The Poppy is August's Birth Flower

Everyone knows that they have a specific birthstone that is placed in jewelry and trinkets to signify the month they were born in. However, many people don't know that just like the stones, each month has a flower or two as well, which symbolizes birth. Here is the history and meaning behind your birth flower.

August: Poppy
Alternate: Gladiolas

The Poppy is any showy flower, born one per stem, belonging to the Papaveraceae family. They can be found in the wild or grown in captivity for decoration.

Poppy's generally have round petals and can be found in many different colors including white, pink, orange and red. Many have dark centers, while others have centers the same colors as their petals.

Most of the Poppy's contain alkaloids, some of which are poisonous like the Mexican Poppy. So poisonous in fact that if an animal such as a cow or goat eats too many of them, not only will the animal be affected, but so will those that drink the milk from those animals.

The California Poppy is the California state flower. The common poppy or corn poppy is still worn today in remembrance of WWI.

Fun and interesting fact: Urban legend states that poppy seeds can make someone test positive for opium during a drug test as the opiates are found in the seeds. But is this just a legend? The show MythBusters recently tested this myth. After eating an entire loaf of poppy seed cake and three bagels, the two participants tested positive for opium the remainder of the day, however the tests came back negative the next morning. In Singapore, poppy seeds are illegal because of the alleged drug connection.

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