Somniferum

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A plant known for its sedative properties, cultivated for producing opium
2. A species of poppy that serves as the source of narcotic substances like morphine and codeine
3. An herbaceous annual valued for its medicinal and recreational uses due to the psychoactive compounds in its latex

Etymology: "Somniferum" is the Latin specific epithet for the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and it means "sleep-bringing" or "soporific." It is formed from "somnus" (sleep) and "-fer," from "ferre" (to bring or carry), the same pattern found in words like "lucifer" (light-bringer). Linnaeus gave the plant this name in his Species Plantarum, which is where the binomial as used today was established. The word itself is not an English term at first sight, but it has entered English as a botanical name, used in scientific writing and in the names of the plant and its derived products. Its meaning stays close to the Latin: a plant whose juice induces sleep. The epithet was chosen to describe the effect of the latex, which contains opium alkaloids such as morphine and codeine.

Synonyms: poppy, opium poppy