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