Location in The Oz Series
poppy field
Also known as the great meadow of poppies, the deadly flower bed, the poppy bed, the deadly poppy field, the scarlet poppies, their deadly fragrance, the flowers.
A great meadow of brilliant scarlet poppies bordering the river on the way to the Emerald City; when massed together their odor is a powerful sleeping poison, and anyone of flesh who breathes it falls asleep and, unless carried away, sleeps on forever.
Appears in 3 chapters, first in chapter 8, last in chapter 10.
This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.
What the story establishes
| Acoustics and tone | Hushed, drowsy, and deceptively lovely: a dazzling carpet of scarlet brilliance and spicy scent whose menace makes no sound — the danger here lulls rather than roars. |
| Appearance | A ground carpeted with great clusters of big scarlet poppies so brilliant in color they almost dazzle the eye, growing ever thicker until they crowd out all the other flowers. (as of ch. 8) |
| Physical constraints | So vast that its deadly carpet seems never to end; a flesh-and-blood being caught within cannot escape the scent unaided and must be carried clear before sleeping forever. |
Relationships
- injures → Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 8The poppies' scent proves too strong even for the great Lion, who succumbs and falls fast asleep among the flowers, left behind by his friends.
- injures → Dorothy (ended) ch. 8The poppies' powerful scent overcomes Dorothy, drugging her into a deep, near-fatal enchanted sleep among the flowers.
- injures → Toto (ended) ch. 8The poppies' scent overcomes Toto, dropping him asleep beside Dorothy in a near-fatal enchanted slumber.
- threatens → Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 8–9The great meadow of scarlet poppies threatens the flesh-and-blood members of the party with its deadly sleeping scent: Dorothy, Toto, and finally the Lion succumb and would sleep on forever, until the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman carry the girl and dog clear and the field mice haul the Lion out in chapter 9.
- located in ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 8–9Overcome by the deadly scent while running for the edge of the poppy bed, the Cowardly Lion falls asleep and lies stranded among the poppies, too heavy for his companions to lift.
From the text
Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever.Chapter 8
See poppy field chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →