Plant Name
Scientific Name: Anagallis arvensis ssp. foemina
Synonyms: Anagallis arvensis var. caerulea, A. caerulea, A. foemina
Common Names: Poorman's Weatherglass, Poor Man's Weatherglass, Blue Pimpernel
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual, Biennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This attractive, naturalized weed is native to Europe.
Habitat: Riparian. It can appear in riparian or irrigated areas. This one was observed growing at the edge of a Tucson, Arizona lawn.
Flower Color: Blue
Flowering Season: Spring
Height: To 1 foot (30 cm) tall
Description: The less than 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) wide flowers have 5 rounded lobes that are joined and a bright magenta color at the base of the flower. The flowers predict the weather by closing before it rains, inspiring this plant's common name of Poorman's Weatherglass. The leaves are simple, green, glabrous, sessile, oval to egg-shaped, and opposite or in whorls of 3 around the stems. The stems are green, fleshy, hairless, square in cross-section, and mostly trailing or sprawling.
The orange-flowered Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) is much more common here than this subspecies.
Special Characteristics
Poisonous – Both this subspecies and A. arvensis are poisonous.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Dilleniidae
Order: Primulales
Family: Primulaceae – Primrose family
Genus: Anagallis L. – pimpernel
Species: Anagallis arvensis L. – scarlet pimpernel
Subspecies: Anagallis arvensis L. ssp. foemina (Mill.) Schinz & Thell. – poorman's weatherglass