Stem: Delicate; 4-sided, 4 to 12
in. long, much branched, the sprays weak and long. Leaves: Oval,
opposite, sessile, black dotted beneath.
Preferred Habitat - Waste places, dry fields and roadsides, sandy
soil.
Flowering Season - May-August.
Distribution - Newfoundland to Florida, westward to Minnesota and
Mexico.
Tiny pimpernel flowers of a reddish copper or terra cotta color
have only to be seen to be named, for no other blossoms on our
continent are of the same peculiar shade. Thrifty patches of the
delicate little annuals have spread themselves around the
civilized globe; dying down every autumn, and depending on seeds
alone to keep the foothold once gained here, in Mexico and South
America, Europe, Egypt, Abyssinia, Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius,
New Holland, Nepal, Persia, and China. What amazing travelers
plants are! The blue-flowered plants are now believed to be a
distinct species (A. coerulea).
Notwithstanding the fact that many birds delight to feast on the
seeds, or perhaps because of it, for many must be dropped
undigested, the scarlet pimpernel is one of the most widely
distributed species known.
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