Botanical Name Plant's Common Name Plant Family   

   MH337 : Anagallis arvensis L.

Plant Category : Herbs

Melghat's Flora's Serial No. : -

Synonym : Lysimachia arvensis (L.) U. Manns & Anderb.;

Plant Common Name : blue-scarlet pimpernel, red pimpernel, red chickweed, poorman's barometer, poor man's weather-glass, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock, Neel, Dharti Dhak, Krishnaneel, Ran draksh, Bellichina, Suryakanti soppu

Plant Family : Primulaceae

Description : A small herb up to 20 cm tall. Flowers blue. typically a much branched, prostrate, annual herb with a fibrous root system, although the generally weak stems can also be ascending or even erect and up to 50 cm tall. Dense mats of weak quadrangular stems usually spread outwards from a central base to cover up to 0.25 m². They are hairless and dotted with small dark glands, and have short internodes. The leaves occur in opposite pairs or rarely in whorls of three. They are ovate, stalkless, 5 to 25 mm long, with rounded bases, smooth margins and bluntly pointed tips. They are smooth and hairless, densely dotted beneath with small dark glands, and usually dark-green. The small orange-red, red, blue or occasionally pink or white flowers occur singly in the leaf axils on slender stalks, which hold the flowers erect whilst open but bend downwards in fruit. Each flower has a small, green, 5-pointed calyx, five oval or rounded petals 3 to 5 mm long, and five erect stamens around the unbranched central style. The fruits are rounded, papery capsules 3 to 5 mm across, green at first and ripening to brown before the top breaks away to release the numerous seeds. Each seed is about 1 mm long, brown, angled and finely pitted. The seedlings exhibit epigeal germination. The hypocotyl is 2 to 10 mm long, and the spreading cotyledons ovate to elliptic and 2 to 5 mm long. A single stem with small opposite leaves usually develops above them, with lateral branches developing in all leaf axils.

Plant Location in Melghat : Gularghat

Medicinal Use / Activity : dermatological purposes regarding wound healing properties; Less specifically the herb has been reported as being toxic to poultry and rabbits, and the seed to birds. The plant material has been applied externally to slow-healing ulcers and wounds. It also has been applied as an expectorant and as a remedy for pruritus, rheumatism, haemorrhoids, rabies, leprosy, and snake bite. Treatment of non-specified types of phthisis, and of kidney-related conditions such as dropsy and chronic nephritis. It was used as an antidepressant. The herb is diuretic, diaphoretic and expectorant; cures gout, cerebral affections, hydrophobia, pain in liver and kidney; used in leprosy, dropsy, epilepsy, mania and hepatic and renal complaints. It is anti-dote to viperine poison, imporves eyesight and expell leeches.

Plant's Phytochemicals : COMPOUNDS: cyclamin; Arvenin I; Arvenin II; Cucurnitacin B; Cucurnitacin D; Cucurnitacin E; beta-amyrin; rutin; n-hexacosane; lacceric acid; anagalligenone; anagalligenin; beta-sitosterol; stigmasterol; a-spinasterol; 7-avenasterol; dihydrospinasterol; palpitic acid; stearic acid; oleic acid; linoleic acid; anagallosides A; anagallosides B; anagallosides C; deglucoanagallosides A ; deglucoanagallosides B; kaempferol; quercetin;

ACTIVE COMPOUNDS (6):

Beta-sitosterol;

Quercetin;

Rutin;

Kaempferol;

Stigmasterol;

Spinasterol;

Plant's Current Status : -

Plant's Cross Database Reference : 259142

Reference : Londhe, A.N., Watve, A.V. & Ansari, M.Y. 2002. “Additions to the flora of Melghat Tiger Reserve”. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 26: 385 to 395 - https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/265546 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21237261 - http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Blue%20Pimpernel.html - http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/scarlet_pimpernel - http://eol.org/pages/583434/details - http://www.mpbd.info/plants/anagallis_arvensis.php

Reference : ~ Londhe AN, Watve AV and Ansari MY; "Additions to the flora of Melghat Tiger Reserve"; J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. (2002); 26(2): 385-395 PMID :

~ Boeing H, Bechthold A, Bub A, Ellinger S, Haller D, Kroke A, Leschik-Bonnet E, Muller MJ, Oberritter H, Schulze M, Stehle P and Watzl B; "Critical review: vegetables and fruit in the prevention of chronic diseases"; Eur J Nutr (2012); 51(6): 637-63 PMID : 22684631

Kingdom : Plantae - Plants
Phylum : Tracheophyta
Subkingdom : Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision : Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division : Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class : Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Subclass : Dilleniidae
Order : Primulales
Family : Primulaceae - Primrose Family
Genus : Anagallis L. - pimpernel
Species : Anagallis arvensis L. - scarlet pimpernel

Anagallis arvensis L. - scarlet pimpernel
Anagallis arvensis L. - scarlet pimpernel
Anagallis arvensis L. - scarlet pimpernel