Anagallis arvensis

For the novel by Baroness Orczy, see The Scarlet Pimpernel. For other entries, see Scarlet Pimpernel (disambiguation).

Scarlet pimpernel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Primulaceae
Genus: Anagallis
Species:
A. arvensis
Binomial name
Anagallis arvensis
Synonyms

Lysimachia arvensis (L.) U.Manns & Anderb.

Azure-blue Anagallis arvensis, a blue form

Anagallis arvensis (syn. Lysimachia arvensis), commonly known as the scarlet pimpernel, red pimpernel, red chickweed, poor man's barometer, poor man's weather-glass,[1] shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock, is a species of low-growing annual plant with brightly coloured flowers,[2] most often scarlet but also bright blue and sometimes pink. The native range of the species is Europe and Western Asia and North Africa.[3] The species has been distributed widely by humans, either deliberately as an ornamental flower or accidentally.[4] A. arvensis is now naturalised almost worldwide, with a range that encompasses the Americas, Central and East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Malesia, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and Southern Africa.[5][6][7]

Traditionally included in the primrose family Primulaceae, the genus Anagallis was placed in the family Myrsinaceae[8] until that family in turn was included in Primulaceae in the APG III system. The genus Anagallis is included in Lysimachia by some authors.[9]

This common European plant is generally considered a weed and is an indicator of light soils, though it grows opportunistically in clay soils as well. The origin of the name pimpernel comes from late Middle English pympernele [1400–50], derived from Middle French pimprenelle, from Old French piprenelle, and ultimately from Vulgar Latin *piperīnella (piper 'pepper' + -īn- '-ine' + -ella diminutive suffix).

The flower serves as the emblem of the fictional hero the Scarlet Pimpernel.

  1. ^ "Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis)". Connecticut Botanical Society. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  2. ^ Ples, Marek (2022-09-20). "Lab Snapshots: anatomy of Anagallis arvensis petal". weirdscience.eu. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  3. ^ "Factsheet - Anagallis arvensis".
  4. ^ "Angallis arvensis (Scarlet pimpernel)".
  5. ^ "Descriptions and articles about the Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) - Encyclopedia of Life". Encyclopedia of Life.
  6. ^ "Anagallis arvensis in Flora of North America @ efloras.org".
  7. ^ "Anagallis arvensis". Archived from the original on 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
  8. ^ Mari Källersjö; Gullevi Bergqvist; Arne A. Anderberg (2000). "Generic realignment in primuloid families of the Ericales s.l.: a phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequences from three chloroplast genes and morphology". American Journal of Botany. 87 (9). American Journal of Botany, Vol. 87, No. 9: 1325–1341. doi:10.2307/2656725. JSTOR 2656725. PMID 10991903. (full pdf.text)
  9. ^ C. A. Stace, New Flora of the British Isles, 4th edition 2019, p 549. ISBN 978-15272-2630-2.