Papaver rhoeas in the context of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust

A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the source of the narcotic drug mixture opium, which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drug. It also produces edible seeds. Following the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Flanders, Belgium, during World War I, poppies, specifically the red poppy, have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime, especially in the UK, Canada, Australia, Africa and other Commonwealth realms.

The National World War I Museum and Memorial is located in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Opened in 1926 as the Liberty Memorial, it was designated by the United States Congress in 2004 as the country's official museum dedicated to World War I. In 2014, as part of the Centennial recognition, Congress added the designation as the country's official war memorial. A non-profit organization manages it in cooperation with the Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. The museum focuses on global events from the causes of World War I before 1914 through the 1918 armistice and 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Visitors enter the exhibit space within the 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m) facility across a glass bridge above a field of 9,000 red poppies, each representing 1,000 combatant deaths. As of 2025, the museum’s collection includes more than 350,000 items, making it one of the largest World War I collections globally.

The museum was closed in 1994 for renovations and reopened in December 2006 with an expanded facility to exhibit an artifact collection begun in 1920.