Macleaya cordata, the five-seeded plume-poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae, which is used ornamentally. It is native to China and Japan. It is a large herbaceous perennial growing to tall by or more wide, with olive green leaves and airy panicles of buff-white flowers in summer.
The Latin cordata means "heart-shaped", referring to the leaves. The common name plume poppy is used for plants of the genus Macleaya.
The Chinese name Ã¥ÂÂè½å (bóluòhúi) is derived from ç°¸éÂÂè¿´ (bòluóhúi), the Xianbei name for a musical instrument also known as 大觠(dàjiÃÂo, "big horn"), because the sound of blowing the dried hollow stem resembles the instrument sound. It is also called èÂÂçÂÂè (hàotÃÂngcÃÂo, "horn herb"), èÂÂçÂÂæ¡¿ (hàotÃÂnggÃÂn, "horn stick"), or å±±èÂÂç (shÃÂnhàotÃÂng, "mountain horn") in Chinese.
The Japanese name 竹似è (takenigusa) means "bamboo-like herb", also referring to its hollow stem.
It self-seeds readily and can be invasive, so in cultivation requires space. It is a popular subject for flower arranging. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Macleaya ÃÂ kewensis, bred at Kew Gardens, is a hybrid of M. cordata and M. microcarpa. The cultivar 'Flamingo' has pink tinged flowers, and has also received the Award of Garden Merit.
Macleaya cordata is a source of a variety of chemical compounds, mainly isoquinoline alkaloids. The seed oil contains dihydrosanguinarine, dihydrochelerythrine, and twelve fatty acids of which linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids predominate.