The Papaveraceae

The Papaveraceae is the poppy family. Plants of the Papaveraceae have...

• 4 petals (although some have 6 petals)
• a superior ovary
• many stamens (usually)
• a fruit that is usually a capsule (usually)

The sepals often fall off the flower early, so you may not see them in open flowers. (Look at the youngest flowers to see sepals.)

Many species have petals that are "creped" (with longitudinal, fine wrinkles), as in the poppy above.

Some members of the Papaveraceae, such as the prickly poppy (below) have 6 petals.

(On a side note: the image above, the leaves have clasping leaf bases. This is not a characteristic of the entire family.)