Australia: Authorities destroy flower grower’s ‘really beautiful poppies’, planted by ‘mistake’

In Australia’s Hobart, a flower grower's new line of "really beautiful poppies" turned out to be opium poppies instead. Kate Dixon, who operates a commercial flower farm at Hobart's Clifton beach, said she received a call from the authorities earlier this month after they saw a photo of her frilly pink poppies on Instagram.

“I got an email through my website as an inquiry,” Dixon told ABC radio. “And at first glance, thought it was a phishing scam because I had absolutely no idea that the poppies that I was growing were questionable or illegal and restricted.”

ALSO READ | Opium cultivation up by one-third in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, UN agency warns

Officers from the department of natural resources and environment took a sample of the flowers to the University of Tasmania for testing and determined they were of prohibited species Papaver somniferum, known as alkaloid or opium poppies, and Papaver bracteatum, known as Persian or Iranian poppies.

WATCH | Afghan girls create game out of fight against opium

Dixon said she took “full responsibility” for not spotting the flowers earlier but said the seeds were widely available.

“I was just really shocked because I’ve seen these, I bought these particular seeds from a mainland seed supplier, and I’ve definitely seen these varieties available for local sale, I’ve seen them in people’s cottage gardens here,” she further told the ABC radio.

Later on her Instagram page, Dixon said she had bought seeds containing what she thought was Poppy Pink Frills or Papaver paeoniflorum, and a coral oriental poppy, Papaver oriental.

Papaver paeoniflorum is listed as a prohibited species in Tasmania. What Dixon thought were oriental poppies were actually the very similar-looking Papaver bracteatum.

In a statement, the department of natural resources and environment confirmed it had removed 50 plants from Dixon’s property.

“The department appreciates the assistance of the property owner,” the statement said. “Where prohibited poppies have been found in a garden setting in the first instance our preferred approach is generally education, awareness and to engage with the owner.”

The chief executive of Poppy Growers Tasmania, Keith Rice, told Guardian Australia the rules on growing poppies in Tasmania were clear and urged gardeners and flower growers to be more careful.

“The government factsheets are very clear on what you cannot grow, it’s a very well-known crop in Tasmania and does not look very alike to the legal kind,” Rice said.

Tasmania is reportedly the largest alkaloid poppy producer in the world and supplies almost half of all global demand. The crops are strictly monitored, but there are frequent reports of people becoming sick after drinking “poppy tea”.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.