ΑΝΑΓΑΛΛΙΣ
Anagallis arvensis
(Scarlet pimpernel)
Botanical info:
Scarlet pimpernel is an herbal, low-growing, creeping annual, with square cross-section stems 5–30 cm long, with bright green, soft leaves, flowering in early spring (March – April). It grows naturally in phrygana, and low shrublands expanding over Europe, west Asia, and north Africa.
Hippocratic legacy:
a. In Ulcers:
a. Scarlet pimpernel with Egyptian alum is described a wound purgative.
Other uses:
Scarlet pimpernel has been applied externally to slow-healing ulcers and wounds. It also has been applied as an expectorant and as a remedy for pruritus, rheumatism, hemorrhoids, rabies, leprosy, and snake-bite. Scarlet pimpernel has been used in treatment of non-specified types of phthisis, and of kidney-related conditions such as dropsy and chronic nephritis. It was used as an antidepressant in ancient Greece, and to treat various mental disorders in European folk medicine. Scarlet pimpernel is insecticidal, or at least is repellent to some insects, possibly by virtue of its pungent essential oil which has a characteristic smell.