Scarlet Pimpernel, also called Shepherd's Weatherglass and Poor Man's Weatherglass, is a small annual. The scarlet flowers have five petals. The leaves are oval, have no stalks and grow opposite each other. There is a prostrate stem which throws up flowering shoots. The plant grows in dry conditions in disturbed ground, sand dunes and ploughed fields, and is very common in the south of Ireland, less so in the north. The name Weatherglass is aptly given to this pretty flower, as the petals close when the sun goes in; they close regularly in mid-afternoon also.
Flowering starts in May and continues until the autumn.
Scarlet Pimpernel grows in most non-tropical countries.