Lysimachia monelli

Lysimachia monelli, the blue pimpernel or garden pimpernel^[1] (formerly known as Anagallis monelli) is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to the Mediterranean region (in the Iberian Peninsula, Northwest Africa, Corsica, Sicily and the Balearic Islands^[2]). It is not to be confused with Lysimachia foemina, which has very similar blue flowers, but broader leaves and can be found also in colder climates. In a comparison of DNA sequences, L. monelli was shown to be most closely related to L. foemina.^[3] The latter had been thought by many to be closest to L. arvensis, and some authors had even included L. foemina as a subspecies of L. arvensis.^{[citation needed]} The three species were among several transferred from Anagallis to Lysimachia in a 2009 paper.^[4]

Blue pimpernel
Blue pimpernel (Anagallis monelli), the Skylover cultivar)
Orange colour form of the Blue Pimpernel near el Perelló (Catalonia), Spain
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Primulaceae
Genus:	Lysimachia
Species:	L. monelli
Binomial name
Lysimachia monelli (L.) U. Manns & Anderb.

Lysimachia monelli is a low-growing perennial with trailing stems. Wild specimens have blue or orange coloured flowers and are not sympatric with the blue-flowered plants growing natively in southern Spain and the orange in Morocco and southern Italy. A red variant was also developed by breeding at the University of New Hampshire. The orange-coloured flowers have a higher concentration of pelargonidin pigment, while blue flowers have a higher concentration of malvidin. The red-coloured flowers are due to the relative concentrations of delphinidin and malvidin pigments. In addition to the blue, orange and red forms, a white form of the flower also exists.^[5][6]

Although this is a perennial, in cultivation in temperate regions this plant is often grown as an annual. As Anagallis monellii it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[7]

See also

• Anagallis arvensis, the scarlet pimpernel.