Scarlet pimpernel
Encyclopedia
Scarlet pimpernel is a low-growing annual
plant
found in Europe
, Asia
and North America
. Scarlet pimpernel flowers are open only when the sun shines.
Although traditionally included in the family
Primulaceae
, the genus
Anagallis is now considered to be better placed within the related family Myrsinaceae
. In the APG III system
, Primulaceae is expanded to include Myrsinaceae, thus Anagallis is in Primulaceae sensu lato.
This common Europe
an plant is generally considered a weed
and is an indicator of light soils.
It is most well known for being the emblem of the fictional
hero The Scarlet Pimpernel
.
growing to about 50 cm long, which bear bright green ovate sessile leaves
in opposite pairs. The small orange, red or blue flower
s are produced in the leaf axils from spring to autumn. The petal
margins are somewhat crenate and have small glandular hairs
. Blue-flowered plants (A. arvensis Forma azurea) are common in some areas, such as the Mediterranean
region, and should not be confused with the related Blue pimpernel, Anagallis foemina
, sometimes treated as a subspecies, Anagallis arvensis ssp. foemina. In 2007, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that Anagallis foemina is more closely related to Anagallis monelli
than to Anagallis arvensis, and should be treated as a separate species.
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
found in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Scarlet pimpernel flowers are open only when the sun shines.
Although traditionally included in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Primulaceae
Primulaceae
Primulaceae is a family of flowering plants with about 24 genera, including some favorite garden plants and wildflowers. It is also known as the primrose family.- Genera :...
, the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Anagallis is now considered to be better placed within the related family Myrsinaceae
Myrsinaceae
Myrsinaceae, or the Myrsine family, is a rather large family from the order Ericales. It consists of 35 genera and about 1000 species....
. In the APG III system
APG III system
The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy...
, Primulaceae is expanded to include Myrsinaceae, thus Anagallis is in Primulaceae sensu lato.
This common Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an plant is generally considered a weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
and is an indicator of light soils.
It is most well known for being the emblem of the fictional
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
hero The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the "disguised superhero" tales such as Zorro and Batman....
.
Description
Scarlet pimpernel has weak sprawling stemsPlant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
growing to about 50 cm long, which bear bright green ovate sessile leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
in opposite pairs. The small orange, red or blue flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in the leaf axils from spring to autumn. The petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
margins are somewhat crenate and have small glandular hairs
Trichome
Trichomes are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants and certain protists. These are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae.- Algal trichomes :...
. Blue-flowered plants (A. arvensis Forma azurea) are common in some areas, such as the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
region, and should not be confused with the related Blue pimpernel, Anagallis foemina
Anagallis foemina
Anagallis foemina, common name Poorman's Weatherglass, is a low-growing annual herbaceous plant of the genus Anagallis belonging to the Myrsinaceae family.-Etymology:...
, sometimes treated as a subspecies, Anagallis arvensis ssp. foemina. In 2007, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that Anagallis foemina is more closely related to Anagallis monelli
Anagallis monelli
Anagallis monelli is a species of pimpernel, native to the Mediterranean region. It is not to be confused with Anagallis foemina, which has very similar blue flowers, but broader leaves and can can be found also in colder climates. In a comparison of DNA sequences, Anagallis monelli was shown to...
than to Anagallis arvensis, and should be treated as a separate species.
Sources
- Harvey Wickes FelterHarvey Wickes FelterHarvey Wickes Felter was an eclectic medicine doctor and co-author with John Uri Lloyd of King's American Dispensatory and Felter's Eclectic Materia Medica.-External links:* @ Henriette Kress's Herbal website....
and John Uri LloydJohn Uri LloydJohn Uri Lloyd was an American pharmacist influential to the development of pharmacognosy, ethnobotany, economic botany, and herbalism.He also wrote novels set in northern Kentucky...
(1898) King's American Dispensatory.