Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), fam. Primulaceae.
   A cosmopolite plant that can be found around the whole Nothern Hemisphere, and since recent times it has been introduced into Southern, for example, to Australia (three last photos) – and it generally looks the same everywhere… Only the color of the flowers may very from pale-pink to bricky-red, and in the Mediterranean they are often blue. Nevertheless, Scarlet Pimpernel is not found very often in Kyiv. Its opposite leaves on creeping shoots remind the similarly cosmopolite weed – Common Chickweed. The flowers appear not earlier than June; they close in the night and in cloudy weather – that is why sometimes they are not seen for several days in a row.
   The extracts from Scarlet Pimpernel have choleretic, diuretic, laxative, sudorific, as well as antiinflammatory, analgetic, wound-healing and sedative properties. However, Scarlet Pimpernel is toxic, and used restrictedly only in folk medicine, since it may cause nausea and renal disfunction, and counterindicated for pregnant women. This plant may also poison cattle and poultry – it is one of many plants that are somewhat awry called "chicken-blindness".

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