Scarlet Pimpernel (Edible Plants on UC Berkeley Campus)

Scarlet Pimpernel

Anagallis arvensis

Description ³

As the alternative names of shepherd's sundial and shepherd's weather-glass suggest, scarlet pimpernel is well-known for its ability to indicate both the weather and the time of day. The small, bright scarlet flowers open at around 8 am each day, and close at 3 pm. They also close during humid or damp weather (4). This member of the primrose family is a diminutive plant, creeping close to the ground. The egg-shaped leaves are pale green and dotted with black on the undersides (2). The flowers of the subspecies native to Britain (arvensis) are red or pink, but a blue-flowered form (Forma azurea) also occurs, which is often confused with the introduced subspecies blue pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis subsp. foemina) (2). The name pimpernel comes from the Old French pimprenele, the misapplied name of the burnet saxifrage, Pimpinella saxifrage (4).

Distribution ⁴

"Maharashtra: Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Nasik, Pune, Raigad, Satara Karnataka: Chikmagalur, Coorg, Dharwar, Hassan, Mysore, N. Kanara, Shimoga Tamil Nadu: Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Namakkal, Nilgiri, Salem, Tiruvannamalai"

Habitat ⁵

Occuring in open habitats and typically a weed of arable areas and gardens, scarlet pimpernel is also found around rabbit warrens, on road verges, sand dunes, heaths, chalk downland and on coastal cliffs (2)(3).

Edible ⁶

This plant has been used since the ancient Greeks for medicinal use. The young leaves tend to be a little too bitter to be eaten raw but can be eaten boiled. However, be warned that this plant has since been proven to have many harmful side-effects.

Sources and Credits

More Info

Range Map

iNat Map

‹ › ×