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scarlet pimpernel
Scientific Name: Anagallis arvensis
Family: Primulaceae
Category: Dicot
Growth: Forb/herb
Duration: Annual, Biennial
Other Names:
The Scarlet Pimpernel: Fact and Fiction
The name "Scarlet Pimpernel" is most famously associated with the fictional hero created by Baroness Emmuska Orczy in her series of historical fiction novels, plays, and other adaptations. Set during the French Revolution, the Scarlet Pimpernel is a mysterious English nobleman who rescues French aristocrats from the guillotine.
The character is known for leaving a scarlet pimpernel flower as his calling card.
The Real Scarlet Pimpernel Flower: Anagallis arvensis
- Common Names: Scarlet Pimpernel, Shepherd's Weatherglass, Shepherd's Sundial, European Pimpernel
Distribution and Habitat:
- Scarlet Pimpernel is found throughout California, up to 3300 feet.
- It is a common arable weed.
- It is naturalized in North America.
- The plant is located in Suffolk, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits:
- Scarlet Pimpernel is described as a low-growing, branching, winter or summer annual, and occasionally, biennial broadleaf plant.
- The flowers are known to close in cloudy weather.
Ecological Role:
- It's noted as being a "good-natured" weed, "hardly big enough to do any real harm and also very pretty."
Quirky Facts:
- The Scarlet Pimpernel's flowers closing in bad weather led to the plant being known as "shepherd's weatherglass."