This little-noticed weed has bright orange flowers and a colorful name

Scarlet pimpernel is an inconspicuous little plant with delicate orange-red flowers as entrancing as its name.

I first encountered it in England, where it was clinging to a sparse patch of soil on an ancient stone wall. Since then, I’ve found it here and there in the U.S., including the Lowcountry, where it brightens dusty roadsides on Pinckney Island.

Its unusual common name has etymological origins in Latin and Middle English. It’s also the alias of a dashing swordsman who rescues aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution in Baroness Orczy’s 1905 novel.

As for the plant, common scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) is related to primroses, and it’s native to Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. It’s now naturalized throughout most of the world.

The plant has other fanciful names — poor man’s weather glass, shepherd’s clock — because its flowers close at dusk and during overcast days.

Variants with bright blue petals have been found in some places, especially the Mediterranean, though a couple of related species (A. foemina, A. monelli) also regularly have blue flowers.

Although often dismissed as weeds, both red and blue versions of scarlet pimpernel have attracted the attention of gardeners, who value them as summer annuals in rock gardens and other open, sunny places. Seeds can be bought online.

This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 4:55 AM.