scarlet pimpernel
Lysimachia arvensis
Commonly called the 'Poor Man's Weatherglass' because its flowers open only when the sun shines and close tightly when rain or cloudy skies approach.
- Scientific name
- Lysimachia arvensis
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Ericales › Primulaceae › Lysimachia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Disturbed soils, arable fields, gardens, pastures, and coastal dunes.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (Photosynthesis)
- Range
- Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, North America, Australia
- Size
- Creeping stems 5 to 30 cm long, with flowers 5 to 12 mm in diameter.
- Lifespan
- 1 year (Annual)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Intensive herbicide use and extreme agricultural tilling, though it remains highly resilient.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to touch for most, but defensive if consumed. The plant contains saponins which are toxic; do not ingest any part of it, and keep it away from pets and livestock. Wash hands after handling if you have sensitive skin, as it can occasionally cause mild contact dermatitis.
Scarlet pimpernel , commonly known as blue-scarlet pimpernel , red pimpernel , red chickweed , poorman's barometer , poor man's weather-glass , shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock , is a low-growing annual plant. The native range of the species is Europe and Western Asia and North Africa. The species has been distributed widely by humans, either deliberately as an ornamental flower or accidentally. A. arvensis is now naturalised almost worldwide, with a range that encompasses the Americas, Central and East Asia, the...
Photo: Douglas Goldman, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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