Poppy pods were creating a lot of business for eBay. For some reason--we're not 100% sure why--but eBay had banned poppy sales on their site. This makes it very hard for decorators to find dried poppy pods.
It may be because of the stigma associated with poppy pods and its different uses as an opiate-producing plant. The plant is used to make opium, heroin, morphine, hydrocodon, and a few other drugs but they are produced from the living plant--to our knowledge it is not possible to derive these drugs from the dried poppy. We imagine that is why the flower is still legal to sell.
The dried poppy's unique shape and tumultuous history make it a very exciting flower to decorate with. The poppy pod adds an amazing dynamic to almost every arrangement with is natural tan color and unique shape adding sharp contrast to your arrangement and topieries. We all agree that no other "dried" flower adds that kind of effect to the flower arrangers arsenal if you can call it an arsenal.