Poppy

Dulce et decorum est

This Treasure is paired with: Dulce et decorum est (Meditation on war)

These are some of the finest illustrations of British plants ever published. They are drawn from living specimens grown at Bermondsey and Lambeth Marsh. Trained as an apothecary, Curtis emphasizes identification and the practical use of plants over ‘numerous and imaginary virtues’ claimed by earlier writers. The red poppy ranges over West Asia, North Africa, and Europe: in Flanders’ fields it gained its association with World War I, immortalised as a symbol of remembrance.

This Treasure isn’t currently on display in the Weston Library.