Anagallis
| Anagallis | ||||||||||||
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 Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) | ||||||||||||
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many, see text |
- For the 2nd century BC grammarian sometimes thought to be named Anagallis, see Agallis.
Anagallis is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering plants in the myrsine family Myrsinaceae, commonly called pimpernel and perhaps best known for the Scarlet pimpernel referred to in literature.
These are annual or perennial plants, growing in tufts on weedy and uncultivated areas. The stems are prostrate with ovate to cordate leaves. The flowers of the different species show miscellaneous colors. They are radially symmetrical with five petals. They grow usually in the leaf axils, but sometimes as short spikes at the top of the stem. Pimpernel flowers remain open only under direct sun-light.
They were formerly classified as members of the primrose family (Primulaceae), but a genetic and morphological study by Källersjö et al. (1999; see references) showed that they belong to the Myrsinaceae. Another study by Ulrika Manns and Arne A. Anderberg (2005), based on molecular phylogeny, states the genus in its present circumscription is paraphyletic and should also include in its clade the small genera Asterolinon and Pelletiera, as well as two Lysimachia species (Lysimachia nemorum and Lysimachia serpyllifolia).
Species
- Anagallis acuminata - (Angola)
- Anagallis alternifolia - (Chile)
- Anagallis arvensis - Scarlet Pimpernel, Red Pimpernel (Europe; syn. *A. parviflora, A. platyphylla, A. phoenicea)
- Anagallis barbata - (Brazil)
- Anagallis brevipes - (Tanzania)
- Anagallis crassifolia - (Spain, Morocco)
- Anagallis djalonis - (tropical Africa)
- Anagallis filiformis - (Brazil)
- Anagallis foemina - Blue Pimpernel (Europe; syn. A. caerulea)
- Anagallis gracilipes - (Zimbabwe)
- Anagallis hexamera - (Ethiopia, Kenya)
- Anagallis kingaensis - (tropical Africa)
- Anagallis minima - Chaffweed (Europe; syn. A. centunculus, previously Centunculus minimus)
- Anagallis monelli - Flaxleaf Pimpernel (Mediterranean; syn. A. linifolia)
- Anagallis nummulariifolia - (Madagascar)
- Anagallis oligantha - (Malawi)
- Anagallis peploides - (Madagascar)
- Anagallis pumila - Florida Pimpernel (Americas)
- Anagallis rubricaulis - (Madagascar)
- Anagallis schliebenii - (Tanzania)
- Anagallis serpens - (eastern Africa)
- Anagallis tenella - Bog Pimpernel (Europe; syn. A. repens )
- Anagallis tenuicaulis - (Madagascar)
- Anagallis tsaratananae - (Madagascar)
References
- Kallersjo, Mari (2000). "Generic realignment in primuloid families of the Ericales s. l.: a phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequences from three chloroplast genes and morphology". Amer. J. Bot. 87: 1325–1341. doi:. (available online).
- Ulrika Manns and Arne A. Anderberg (2005). "Molecular Phylogeny of Anagallis (Myrsinaceae) Based on ITS, trnL-F, and ndhF Sequence Data". International Journal of Plant Sciences 166: 1019–1028. doi:.
 Blue Pimpernel (Anagallis foemina) |
 Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) - flower |
 Flaxleaf Pimpernel (Anagallis monelli) |
 Anagallis arvensis from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885 |
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Anagallis". Image Credit.
