Anagallis foemina

Anagallis foemina has been renamed Lysimachia foemina

Anagallis foemina is a species belonging to the Primulaceae family.

Illustration

Description

It is a small annual herbaceous plant from 10 to 40 cm tall, with a square and highly branched stem, each branch coming out axillary between the main stem and a leaf.
The leaves are normally lanceolate, about 3 cm long by 1 or 1.5 cm wide, although some, especially the lower ones, can be ovate.
They are born on each side of the stem (opposite), although sometimes they can be whorled. They are sessile (without a petiole). Brown or blackish dots can be seen on the underside of the leaves.

The solitary flowers that come out of a long erect peduncle, between the leaf and the stem (axillary), above the leaves, in fructification it curves until it is below them, showing the calyx. This one very divided with five lanceolate sepals. The wheel-shaped corolla with five blue lobes (petals) with a red throat. The stamens, with filaments about 3 mm long, have red-purple hairs, sometimes white; the showy yellow anthers. The fruit is a ball (globose) up to 5 mm in diameter with more than twenty seeds inside.

Anagallis foemina is assigned the rank of species, although it is sometimes considered a subspecies of Anagallis arvensis (Marsden-Jones and Weiss 1938; Taylor 1955; Kollmann and Feinbrun 1968). Molecular data show that Anagallis foemina is closer to Anagallis monelli than to Anagallis arvensis (Manns and Anderberg 2007b). They are mainly distinguished from arvensis in that the latter has hairy petals, can be of a different color, and has usually ovate-oblong leaves.

Distribution and habitat

Originally from central and southern Europe, it was introduced to Africa, southern North America and Australia. In thickets, uncultivated soils and grasslands along with other annual plants.

Taxonomy

Anagallis foemina was described by Charles Linnaeus and published in the 8th edition of the Gardeners Dictionarys in 1785.

Etymology

Anagallis: generic name derived from the Greek words, ana = "new", and agallein = "to delight" since the flowers open every time the sun hits them and we can enjoy them anew every day.

foemina: Latin epithet femina = "woman"; understood the term not as the sex of the plant but rather as the delicacy, the size and more delicate aspect.

Bassimo

Anagallis foemina Mill. Philip Miller (1691-1771), first published

Vernacular

The little difference between Anagallis arvensis of blue color and Anagallis faemina means that people do not distinguish between one and the other, which is why they are called the same.

• lung grass, muraj

Synonymy

• Anagallis arvensis subsp. fallulea
• Anagallis arvensis subsp. foemina
• Anagallis arvensis var. fallulea
• Anagallis arvensis var. gentianea
• Anagallis fallulea
• Anagallis foemina
• Lysimachia arvensis subsp. fallulea

Uses

Anagallis arvensis and Anagallis foemina are traditionally used in Navarra (Spain) for dermatological purposes for their wound-healing properties. In some cases, they are also used to treat internal infections, although they are known to be toxic in high doses.

Bibliography and publications