Pimpernel

Scientific Name(s): Anagallis arvensis
Abundance: common
What: flowers, leaves, stem
How: dried and powdered, tea
Where: sunny fields, yards,
When: spring, summer
Nutritional Value: medicinal
Dangers: contains small amount of saponins which can cause stomach upset. Some people develop skin rashes from contact. It also contains some estrogen mimics.

Medicinal Summary:
Leaves/Stem/Flowers - antimicrobial; anti-inflammatory; anti-fungal; appetite stimulant (tisane)

Pimpernel before producing flowers.
Pimpernel

Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) plants. Note the square stems. Flowers are only 1/4 inch across.
ScarletPimpernel2

Close-up of scarlet pimpernel flower.
PimpernelFlower2

PimpernelFlower1

Scarlet pimpernel, blue variety (Anagallis arvensis Forma azurea).
BluePimpernelFlower

Close-up of pimpernel leaf.
BluePimpernelLeaves

Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.
PimpernelTX

North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Pimpernel

The scarlet pimpernel has a tradition of medicinal use going back to the ancient Greeks. They considered it to be a "cure-all", capable of treating any sort of injury, illness, or infection of bone, muscle, eye or other organ. The plant was dried and powdered, this powder then consumed in a drink. The raw plant has a rather unpleasant taste, probably due to the small amount of bitter saponin compounds it contains. It was also used as a wash for bad skin. Perhaps more importantly the pimpernel was thought to raise spirits and dispel melancholy, for which tea made from the fresh plant was recommended.

The pimpernel flowers close up when rain approaches, allowing them to be used as a crude method of predicting bad weather. The flowers also close up in the evening and won't reopen until stuck by sunlight.

The young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, but generally they are too bitter. Also note that they can be fatal to small animals such as rabbits and rodents so don't feed them to pets. Also, don't mistake it for chickweed (Stellaria media)

Pimpernel contains an estrogen mimic and so if that sort of thing concerns you then avoid this plant. The estrogen mimic can cause problems during pregnancy as well with certain hormone-sensitive issues. These include cancers of the breast, uterus, and ovaries along with endometriosis.



Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Privacy & Amazon Paid Promotion Statement

I use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit this website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.


I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. The prices you pay for the item isn't affected, my sales commission comes out of Amazon's pocket.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.