Papaver rhoeas, commonly known as the Corn Poppy, is one of spring's most eye-catching flowers thanks to its large, vivid blooms. Exceptionally easy to grow, this popular poppy appears not only in the garden, but also across America each Memorial Day, when poppies are worn to honor veterans and those who have died in military service. Inspired by the 1915 poem "In Flanders Fields," Americans began wearing poppies on Memorial Day just after WWI; poppies were an important wartime symbol because they were the first plants to return to barren battlegrounds. Today, silk and paper poppies are made and sold each May to benefit veterans and their families; if sown in late fall or early spring, real poppies will bloom at roughly the same time.
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