罂粟科（学名：Papaveraceae）植物广泛分布在全世界温带和亚热带地区，大部分种类是草本，也有少数是灌木或小乔木，整个植株都有导管系统，分泌白色、黄色或红色的汁液。单叶互生或对生，无托叶，常分裂。花两性，虫媒，有少数种是风媒花，单生，有萼片和花冠分离，只有其中的博落回属没有花瓣，花多大而鲜艳，无香味。

花瓣4-6或8-12，雄蕊分离有16-60个，分为两轮；雌蕊符合，心皮有2-100个合成一室；子房上位，蒴果，成熟后裂开放出种子，种子很小，胚乳油质。

本科植物几乎都含有生物碱，许多种类有毒，如误食金杯花可导致水肿或青光眼，动物例如山羊吃了它，乳汁也会含有毒素。

The Papaveraceae /pəpeɪvəˈreɪsiː/ or /pəpɑːvəˈreɪsiː/, informally known as the poppy family, are an economically important family of about 44 genera and approximately 770 species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates (mostly in the northern hemisphere), but almost unknown in the tropics. Most are herbaceous plants, but a few are shrubs and small trees. The family currently includes two groups that have been considered to be separate families: Fumariaceae and Pteridophyllaceae.