Common Name:
COMMON PIMPERNEL, SCARLET PIMPERNEL
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Coefficient of Conservatism:
*
Coefficient of Wetness:
3
Wetness Index:
FACU
Physiognomy:
Ad A-Forb
P. Carrington
blue flower
A species of Eurasia, introduced, and in part escaped from cultivation, in North America. Except for a 1901 collection by O. A. Farwell from Detroit (Wayne Co.), all Michigan specimens have been gathered since 1935, most often in lawns, gardens, and along roadsides, including saline habitats; but also along streams and doubtless in other disturbed sites.
The corolla is usually a striking brick-red. Besides the characters given in the key, hairy filaments and leaves ± gland-dotted (especially beneath) will help to identify this distinctive species. Blue and white forms occur; the white is not known from Michigan, though the blue form has been found rarely in SE Michigan (and in adjacent Essex Co. Ontario.)