Research paper from 2017 in the field of Biology - Botany, grade: 1.3, University of Koblenz-Landau (Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences), language: German. Abstract: As part of the seminar "Useful and Medicinal Plants," an in-depth examination of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum L., will be conducted. The opium poppy is not considered a primitive, wild poppy species but rather the result of centuries of breeding and selection by humans. The earliest finds from the Neolithic period indicate that the poppy was cultivated by humans as a useful plant. The oil-rich seeds were used as a food source, and the pharmacologically active alkaloids from the latex were used as intoxicants or medicine. This makes the opium poppy an important useful and medicinal plant for humans. The species name somniferum translates to "sleep-inducing," highlighting its application.