Armenian Poppy - Armenia

Papaver lateritium - The Armenian poppy is a native of the mountains in Lazistan, an area in Turkish Armenia. It inhabits rocky places, preferring cliff crevices and screes lying between an altitude of 1,200 to 3,000 meters. The Armenian poppy flowers in July and August. There are approximately 750 species of poppies in the papaveraceae family. Poppies are grown for varies reasons: ornamental purposes, medicinal purposes, and as a food source. 

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Greater Armenia was a kingdom flourishing as an independent entity from 321 BC to 69 BC. It served as a Roman province or client state until 12 AD and was partitioned into Byzantine Armenia in 387 AD and Persian Armenia in 428 AD. The kingdom achieved its highest level of regional influence under Tigranes the Great, who reigned from 95 to 55 BC. Under his leadership, the Kingdom of Armenia briefly existed as the most powerful state east of the Roman Empire.

Himalayan Woodland Poppy - Bhutan

Cathcartia villosa - The Himalayan woodland poppy is native to the higher elevations of the Himalayan Plateau stretching eastwards from Nepal to Bhutan. It prefers altitudes from 2,900 to 4,480 meters and is usually found in woodland glades or along the banks of small streams. Despite the high altitudes, the woodland poppy is equipped to handle the cold. A thin coat of fine hairy fibers cover the plant and serves as an insulation against the frigid temperatures.

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The early history of Bhutan consists of several small fiefdoms engaged in a perpetual cycle of battles against each other. Unification and an end to tribal friction was achieved in the early 17th century when Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, a Tibetan military leader, took control of the area. A serious of dzongs, military fortifications, were built to protect Bhutan from outsiders. To establish and strengthen a centralized form of government, the Tsa Yig, a code of uniform laws, was promoted.

Opium Poppy - Iraq

Papaver somniferum - Opium is derived from the opium poppy and used by the medical industry for making several narcotics. The poppy seeds can also be made into poppy seed oil. It is the only member of the papaver family to be cultivated on a large scale. Opium is collected from the green seed pods of the plant after incisions are made into the skin. A milky latex begins to seep from the pods and is then collected, dried, and processed into codeine, morphine, and several other medicinal drugs.

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The British were granted a League of Nations mandate over Iraq in 1920; Iraq had been under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The British established an Iraqi monarchy and installed Faisal I as king. The constant threat of rebellion against British rule and the financial burden prompted Great Britain to grant independence to Iraq in 1932, but it did retain a military presence in the country until 1954. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and replaced with a republican form of government.

Pretty Blue Poppy - Nepal

Meconopsis bella - The pretty blue poppy is one of four species within the family of meconopsis. It is distributed in the Himalaya Mountains between altitudes of 3,500 and 5,000 meters. Its native range is confined along a narrow band stretching from Nepal to Bhutan. The pretty blue poppy has adapted well to the cold environments; the poppy grows no taller than 12 centimeters and is found growing in rocky crevices or along vertical cliffs as a means of finding shelter from the fierce winds. 

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Prithvi Narayan Shah became the first reigning monarch of a unified Nepal. He ascended to the Gorkha Throne in 1743 and began a long campaign of absorbing the neighboring principalities. By 1768, he was able to crown himself as the absolute monarch of Nepal. The Anglo-Nepalese War fought against Britain, 1812 to 1814, was lost and resulted in the decline of the kingdom. In 1846, Nepal became a constitutional monarchy and in 2008, it adopted a republican form of government.

Common Poppy - Luxembourg

Papaver rhoeas - The common poppy grows to a height of about 70 centimeters. The flowers consist of four bright red petals set on a black base supported by a hairy stalk. The plant was common prior to the widespread use of herbicides. The poppy can produce over 15,000 seeds durable enough to lie dormant for decades before germinating. With farmers and landscapers reverting to less intrusive ways of controlling weeds, the common poppy is becoming a common sight again. 

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The Congress of Vienna transformed Luxembourg into a grand duchy, the only remaining duchy in the world. The duties of maintaining the duchy was divided between the German Confederation and the Netherlands. A revision of this setup was negotiated through the 1839 Treaty of London, an agreement establishing the independence and neutrality of Luxembourg and Belgium. Germany occupied Luxembourg during both World Wars and annexed Luxembourg to Germany from 1940 until 1944.