Poppy Strawとは 意味・読み方・使い方

Poppy straw (also opium straw, poppy capsule, poppy chaff, poppy head, poppy pod) is opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) that is harvested when fully mature and dry, minus the ripe poppy seeds. An agricultural by-product of the poppy seed harvest, the straw was a waste product before the 1930s when a chemical process became available to extract morphine from it. Poppy straw consisting mainly of the capsule soon became a valuable source of morphine. Today, poppy straw is a major source of many opiates and other alkaloids. It is the source of 90% of the world supply of legal morphine (for medical and scientific use) and in some countries it also is a source of illegal morphine, which could be processed into illegal heroin).