Desert_Brat wrote:What is the scarlet pimpernel?
".. the 'League of the Scarlet Pimpernel', a secret society of 20 English aristocrats, 'one to command, and nineteen to obey', is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the daily executions. Their leader, the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel, takes his nickname from the drawing of a small red flower with which he signs his messages." From Wiki article for the book.
"Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis; also known as red pimpernel, red chickweed, poorman's barometer, poor man's weather-glass,shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock) is a low-growing annual plant found in Europe, Asia and North America. Scarlet pimpernel flowers are open only when the sun shines."
"This common European plant is generally considered a weed and is an indicator of light soils.
"It is most well known for being the emblem of the fictional hero The Scarlet Pimpernel."
If anyone is wondering why the flowers pictured above are orange rather than red/scarlet, it's because the petals of the plant can be red, orange or blue with a dark purplish center as described below.
The Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) is a low-growing annual plant in family Myrsinaceae. This is a weed (unwanted plant) that grow along field sides and even in wheat crop. They have tiny flowers with a 6-7 mm diameter and 5 petals. The flower can be red, orange or blue with a dark purplish center. The flowers are light sensitive that open in sunlight and fold up in the dark. Their common names include blue pimpernel, red pimpernel, poorman's barometer, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock. Locally it's known as Mangota or udigulay. In NWFP both blue and red species of Scarlet pimpernel grow. The blue species grow in plain areas, while the red or orange species grow in hilly areas.
(Explanation above from Scarlet Pimpernel Flowers | Amateur Photography | Nature Pictures.)
Another explanation notes that white and pale pink petals are also known to bloom on the plant as follows:
Scarlet Pimpernel
(Anagallis arvensis)
Primulaceae
Not what you expected to see? Scarlet pimpernel likes surprises. You might see it in its salmon color ("normal" for us), the blue shown in this picture, pale pink, or even white sometimes. And somewhere, it must be scarlet colored to earn its name. I have seen three of the colors growing together on the same Brazoria county roadside area. (That fact kills Dave's initial idea that the soil pH may lend a helping hand to the plant's chosen color.)
There has been much discussion in the past among botanists regarding these color variations. Gerard believed that the scarlet variety was the male plant, and that the blue was the female. At one time the blue variety was even given a separate name, Anagallis cerulea. This has since been discounted. Botanists now consider all three color variations the same species - not even classifying them as official varieties of the species.
Not only does it try to fool you with its color, this low-sprawling wildflower has square stems. This would normally lead one to believe it is a member of the Mint family. Not so, I'm afraid. Don't eat this plant... It is in the Primrose (Primulaceae) family. Also, use caution when collecting Chickweed for salads, as Scarlet Pimpernel looks very similar to it while not in bloom. Furthermore, The Useful Wild Plants Encyclopedia describes Scarlet Pimpernel as containing toxic saponins.
Non-native to the US, this European wildflower has interesting associated folklore. In Ireland it was considered magical, and when held in hand would allow you to understand the language of birds. I haven't experienced this yet, but I do know from first hand experience that this flower will close upon approach of bad weather. Because of folklore beliefs, this plant has quite a few common names (listed below).
There are references to medicinal uses of this plant, although I wouldn't try it. I once got a small patch of dermatitis from coming in contact with the plant while photographing it. The medicinal uses are listed below only for historical reference.
(The above explanation was taken from WeedsWorth.com - Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis ....)
Also see Wild Plants of Malta & Gozo - Plant: Anagallis arvensis ....
Here's a close-up photo of a blue colored Scarlet Pimpernel.
And, here are two pictures I found of 'cultivated' red colored Scarlet Pimpernel:
Botanical name: Dipladenia sanderi 'Scarlet Pimpernel'
After finishing the first chapter I was struck by the paradoxical contrast between the lighthearted tone and gruesome content. I remember reading this book as a child. I vaguely knew about the French Revolution, but had no idea that it entailed the Reign of Terror until I read this book. I was one of those kids who was mesmerized by death, (especially gory death), and the mass executions via the guillotine during the Reign of Terror captured my imagination. Looking back on it I now suspect that the book's jaunty tone somehow protected me from the horror and human suffering caused by the Reign of Terror. Oh, I knew it was wrong to execute people just because they happened to be of or have an association with a specific class of people, but I wasn't really disturbed by the fact that a supposedly civilized country engaged in barbaric mass executions.
See Wikipedia Guillotine This article is about the decapitation device.
For other uses see Guillotine (disambiguation).
The guillotine (English pronunciation: /ˈɡɪlətiːn/ or /ˈɡiː.ətiːn/;French: [ɡijɔtin]) is a device used for carrying out executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which a blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body. The device is noted for long being the main method of execution in France and, more particularly, for its use during the French Revolution, when it "became a part of popular culture, celebrated as the people's avenger by supporters of the Revolution and vilified as the pre-eminent symbol of the Reign of Terror by opponents."[1] Nevertheless, the guillotine continued to be used long after the French Revolution in several countries, including France, where it was the sole method of execution until the abolition of capital punishment in 1981.
Reign of Terror
The period from June 1793 to July 1794 in France is known as the Reign of Terror or simply "the Terror". The upheaval following the overthrow of the monarchy, invasion by foreign monarchist powers and the Revolt in the Vendée combined to throw the nation into chaos and the government into frenzied paranoia. Most of the democratic reforms of the revolution were suspended and large-scale executions by guillotine began. The first political prisoner to be executed was Collenot d'Angremont of the National Guard, followed soon after by the King's trusted collaborator in his ill-fated attempt to moderate the Revolution, Arnaud de Laporte, both in 1792. Former King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed in 1793. Maximilien Robespierre became one of the most powerful men in the government, and the figure most associated with the Terror. The Revolutionary Tribunal sentenced thousands to the guillotine. Nobility and commoners, intellectuals, politicians and prostitutes,[citation needed]all were liable to be executed on little or no grounds; suspicion of "crimes against liberty" was enough to earn one an appointment with "Madame Guillotine" or "The National Razor". Estimates of the death toll range between 16,000 and 40,000.[14]
At this time, Paris executions were carried out in the Place de la Revolution (former Place Louis XV and current Place de la Concorde); the guillotine stood in the corner near the Hôtel Crillon where the statue of Brest can be found today.
For a time, executions by guillotine were a popular entertainment that attracted great crowds of spectators. Vendors would sell programs listing the names of those scheduled to die. Many people would come day after day and vie for the best locations from which to observe the proceedings; knitting female citizens (tricoteuses) formed a cadre of hardcore regulars, inciting the crowd as a kind of anachronistic cheerleaders. Parents would bring their children. By the end of the Terror, the crowds had thinned drastically. Excessive repetition had staled even this most grisly of entertainments, and audiences grew bored.
Eventually, the National Convention had enough of the Terror, partially fearing for their own lives, and turned against Maximilien Robespierre. In July 1794, he was arrested and executed in the same fashion as those whom he had condemned. This arguably ended the Terror, as the French expressed their discontent with Robespierre's policy by guillotining him.[15]
