Family |
Primulaceae
Lysimachia arvensis
(L.) U.Manns & Anderb.
Lysimachia arvensis (L.) U.Manns & Anderb.
First published in Willdenowia 39: 51 (2009).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, pp. 4–5, under Anagallis arvensis; 1983)
Description
Synonym: Anagallis arvensis L., the name used in Mouterde and a verified Kew synonym.
Life-form & habit: Hairless annual with prostrate or ascending, four-angled stems and diffuse branching.
Leaves: Opposite, entire and ovate, 5–20 × 3–9 mm. The general account mentions possible dark glandular spots, although Mouterde did not observe them in the material he studied.
Inflorescence & flowers: Solitary axillary flowers on stalks longer than the leaves and curved after flowering. Calyx divided almost to the base into narrow, pointed lobes. In Mouterde’s typical var. arvensis the spreading corolla is cinnabar-red, equals or slightly exceeds the calyx, and has finely toothed, ciliate margins.
Fruit: Many-seeded capsule, 4–5 mm, opening by a transverse lid.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Almost throughout the year.
Habitat & elevation: Disturbed ground, edges of cultivated land and sandy places.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Mouterde’s red-flowered var. arvensis: Beirut, Nahr Beirut, Ghiyah, Bouar, Tripoli, Baabda, Bikfaya, Tourzaya, Dimane, Hadchit, Ehden, Chtaura and Chara near Baalbeck.
Syrian distribution: The same variety: Chmaisse, Ain Halakim, Bhamra, Homs, Abou Douhour, Maaloula and Raboue.
Recorded locations: Bqaatouta, Kornet Chehwan and Kfertay.
Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canary Is., Cape Verde, Central European Russia, Chad, Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, Djibouti, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Gulf States, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kriti, Krym, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, North Caucasus, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Selvagens, Sicilia, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, South European Russia, Spain, Sudan-South Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya, Western Sahara, Yemen.
Introduced into: Alabama, Angola, Antipodean Is., Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Ascension, Assam, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, British Columbia, California, Cape Provinces, Chatham Is., Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, China Southeast, Colombia, Colorado, Connecticut, Costa Rica, Crozet Is., Cuba, Delaware, District of Columbia, Dominican Republic, East Himalaya, Easter Is., Ecuador, El Salvador, Florida, Free State, Georgia, Greenland, Guatemala, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Idaho, Illinois, India, Indiana, Iowa, Jamaica, Juan Fernández Is., Kansas, Kazan-retto, Kentucky, Kenya, Kermadec Is., Kirgizstan, Korea, KwaZulu-Natal, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mauritius, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Caledonia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Nigeria, Norfolk Is., North Carolina, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Nova Scotia, Ogasawara-shoto, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Peru, Primorye, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Québec, Rhode I., Réunion, South Australia, South Carolina, St.Helena, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Tennessee, Texas, Tristan da Cunha, Uruguay, Utah, Venezuela, Vermont, Victoria, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Western Australia, Wisconsin, Zimbabwe.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde combines red- and blue-flowered plants under Anagallis arvensis. The floral description and historical localities here are restricted to his typical red-flowered variety; his separately listed var. caerulea records are not transferred without resolving their modern taxonomic placement. The recorded localities refer to the species without assignment to a segregate taxon.