There is scarcely a field boundary, headland, or patch of fallow land where the gay bright scarlet flowers of the Pimpernel are not found. Few plants have such neat star-like flowers with the rich colour and expanse of the petals standing out in sharp contrast to the narrow linear-lanceolate sepals.

Less often seen, although equally attractive, is its sub-species, the Blue-flowered Pimpernel. Both have a practically cosmopolitan distribution, although the Blue-flowered Pimpernel has a preference for more lime-rich soil. Some authorities believe each is a separate species whereas others think they are two colour forms of the same species – scarlet and blue.

The generic name Anagallis is derived from the Greek word Anagelae, meaning to make one laugh, and the Scarlet Pimpernel certainly looks merry enough.

It is most likely to be damaged by the presence of even a slight spring or autumn frost. Common Hemp-nettle used to be an annoying weed in field crops, particularly grain, when these were harvested by hand as the spiny points of the calyx after flowering caused painful scratches. However the plant yields a drug used to treat diseases of the respiratory tract.

The swellings below the individual nodes from which opposite leaves grow are characteristic. Depending on local conditions the stem may only be 10 cm high, or it “nay grow to more than 60 cm. The flowering period is from June until October. When the flowers fade, the labiate corollais shed and the bracts on the upper part of the stem become slightly rigid and prickly too. The fruit is a nutlet.

Also widespread nowadays in fields, fallow land, waste ground, and on sunny banks throughout the warmer regions of Europe is G. angustifolia (Ehrh.) Hoffm. with its strikingly long corolla tube and stems which are not swollen at the nodes. It flowers earlier than Common Hemp-nettle, often until October. It is a plant of grain stubble fields.