The Papaveraceae are characterized by:

• Habit:  herbs, shrubs, rarely trees, often with milky sap
• Leaves:  alternate, opposite, rarely whorled; simple or pinnately dissected
• Plants:  synoecious
• Inflorescence:  various or solitary
• Flowers:  perfect; actinomorphic or zygomorphic
• Sepals:  2, 3, or 4; distinct; caducous
• Petals:  4, 6 , or 8 (12-16); distinct; often crumpled
• Stamens:  many (4-12); distinct; spirally attached
• Ovary:  2-many carpels; connate; ovary with 1 locule and many parietal ovules; styles 1-many or stigma 1 and sessile
• Fruit:  capsule or rarely a cluster of indehiscent follicles