Sunday, June 29, 2008

ooh ooh ooooh! (Anagallis Arvensis)

I LOVE finding new plants, and this little beauty peeked out at me while harvesting St. Johnswort blossoms. I thought it was a chickweed, but upon further examination, I think it might actually be a more uncommon (at least here) species of St. Johnswort ............

*update* from Henriette in the comments ... A Scarlet Pimpernel! Wow! Thanks Henriette!

So pretty!
Lots of little black spots on the underside of the leaves......
Botanical.com has an interesting profile on this plant.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Try for an Anagallis, instead of your St. John's wort. If that's not it, ask at your local university's botanical department ...

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/DKIMAGES/Discover/Home/Plants/Ornamental-Groups/Annuals-and-Biennials/Primulaceae/Anagallis/Anagallis-arvensis/Anagallis-arvensis-1.html
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/plants/anagallis-arvensis

Ananda said...

Amazing! A seemingly common plant, yet I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her until now :)It always facinates me how much history plants reveal, and sometimes, how much theatre it provokes! Blue flowers on many of the pics - but this apricot color is far more striking.

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook said...

I'll be damned! Sure looks like chickweed, except for the flowers. Is it edible?

Ananda said...

Nope, not edible. Bitter and dry tasting, some say poisonous, others say medicinal. Not yummy though. but so pretty :)

Anonymous said...

I just discovered Scarlet Pimpernel this year too! It's known as a poor wo/man's weather forecaster - flowers close up if it's going to rain. That only works in the mornings though I think, because it closes up in the afternoon anyway. I haven't watched enough to see if it's closing up in the mornings simply due to cloud cover (and hence higher possibility of rain) or if it's responding to air pressure.