Papaver guerlekense was described in 1851 according to a single specimen from Gürlek in Lycia (Turkey). It occurs at least in Turkey, Iran, and various parts of Greece. Many authors of European and Near Eastern floras place the species in the synonymy of Papaver rhoeas, however, the species was maintained in the 'Flora Europaea', the 'Exkursionsflora von Crete', and then also in 'World Plants'. Differences to Papaver rhoeas are that the capsule tapers downwards, and that the terminal segment of the leaves is much larger than the lateral segments.