THE PIMPERNELS— continued. 
etymology, two distinct words have become assimilated in their spelling ; that 
Pimpinell and Pimpernel are two such words ; and that the latter is connected with 
the Celtic pimper , the equivalent of the Greek ne/xire, pempe, Latin quinque , Gothic 
fimfi, and our five, with reference to the striking symmetry of the blossoms. 
We have already had occasion to mention some of the main botanical characters 
of the genus Anagallis as such, viz. the five sepals and funnel-shaped or rotate corolla, 
which distinguish it from Centunculus , the hairy filaments, and the transverse 
dehiscence of the capsule. 
The Bog Pimpernel (. Anagallis tenella Lightfoot) is a perennial with thread-like, 
four-sided, prostrate stems ; minute ovate leaves in opposite or sub-opposite pairs, 
lying in one plane ; and relatively enormous flowers. Their delicate little funnel- 
shaped corollas, about half an inch across, of the palest pink, but traversed by 
darker veins, stand erect : they are much longer than the calyx and are almost filled 
with the woolly hairs on the stamens. 
The Blue Pimpernel ( A . c^rulea Schreber) — Mrs. Perrin’s presentment of which 
hardly corresponds to our own slight acquaintance with this rare plant — is a sturdy, 
little, erect, annual plant, with black dots on the lower surface of its close-set ovate 
leaves, with no glandular hairs along the margins of its intensely blue petals, found 
on sunny chalk slopes facing south, and coming true to seed. It is said not to be 
capable of crossing with A. arvensis. A probable explanation of most of the conflict 
of opinion about this plant is that there are two, one a distinct species and the other 
merely a colour-variation of A. arvensis. 
The Scarlet Pimpernel ( Anagallis arvensis Linne) is an annual, generally 
prostrate, and branching freely from the base of its stem, so that it spreads out 
over a considerable area. The four-angled stem forms water-channels from the 
spaces between the leaves. The sessile ovate leaves are dotted with black glands 
beneath and the petals are bordered by a row of short stalked glands. The narrow 
sepals appear between the petals which they nearly equal in length. The corolla is 
generally a bright scarlet of a shade unique among British plants, with a violet eye ; 
but it may be pink, white with a red eye, pure white, or blue. Though honeyless 
and homogamous and probably often self-pollinated, it is visited by one of our 
smallest British bees. It only expands in sunny weather, and then only from about 
nine in the morning to three in the afternoon, closing temporarily for cloud or rain. 
The pollen is thus protected save when the special fertilising bee is abroad. Hence 
the many popular names that the plant has obtained, such as JVink-a-peep , Shepherd's 
Clock , Shepherd's Sundial , Shepherd' s VP atch , Shepherd' s Glass , and Poor Man s 
IV eather-glass. 
