Poor Man's Weatherglass

Appearance

"Lysimachia foemina" has weak, square and sprawling stems growing to about 5–18 centimetres long, which bear bright green sessile leaves in opposite pairs. The leaves are usually lance-shaped about 7–11 mm wide and 12–16 mm long, although some leaves, especially the lowest, may be ovate.

The small flowers are about 8 mm in diameter, have a short stalk, are produced in the leaf axils and are usually blue. They have five lanceolate sepals and five petals. The filaments are about 3 mm long, with showy yellow anthers. The flowering period extends from April to October. The hermaphroditic flowers are pollinated by insects. The fruit is a spherical capsule up to 4 mm in diameter containing about 15 seeds.

This species is very similar to the related "Lysimachia arvensis", and has been regarded as a subspecies of "L arvensis". In 2007, a molecular phylogenetic study showed that "Lysimachia foemina" is more closely related to "Lysimachia monelli" than to "Lysimachia arvensis", and should be treated as a separate species.

"Lysimachia foemina" can be distinguished from "Lysimachia arvensis" on the basis of the hairiness and arrangement of the petals and by the length of the flower stalk. This species has just a few glandular hairs on the margins of the petals, clearly separated from one another.

Naming

The previous genus name "Anagallis" derives from the Greek words ' meaning "again" and ' meaning "to delight in", possibly referring to the fact that these plants produce flowers twice in a year and the flowers open whenever the sun strikes them.

The species epithet means "female" and refers to the small size of the plant and the gentleness of its appearance. The common name refers to the fact that the flowers close at the approaching of the bad weather.

Distribution

This cosmopolitan plant is native to central and southern Europe and has been introduced in Africa, northern and eastern Asia, North and South America and western Australia.

Habitat

It grows in scrub, uncultivated soils and grasslands. It prefers dry, nutrient- and lime-rich soils, at an altitude of 0–1,200 metres above sea level.