Scarlet pimpernel
The flower with limited opening hours for insect pollination.
Photo: Jens H. Petersen
Photo: Jens H. Petersen
Scarlet pimpernel is a small plant, just 5-20 cm tall, but the bright red colour of the flowers makes it very eye-catching.
If you look closely, i.e. with a magnifying glass, you can see the distinctive stamens with their red-violet, hairy filament and yellow anthers. The stamen attracts insects that come to eat the hairs, and at the same time they pollinate the flowers.
The flowers are open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. – and only in sunshine. The flowers are only pollinated by insects while open. When the flowers close, the anthers moves towards the stigmas which are then powdered with its own pollen. So if the insects do not have the time to pollinate the plant during opening hours, it pollinates itself after closing time.
Facts:
- Greenhouse location: The exhibition “Fabulous Flowers”
- Danish name: Rød arve
- Latin name: Lysimachia arvensis
- Family: The primrose family / Primulaceae
- Natural habitat: Cultivated fields, shores and near houses