Anagallis.
Anagallis. Anagallis arvensis, L. Scarlet Pimpernel. Red Chickweed. Weather-glass. Mouron rouge, Fr. Gauchheil, Rothe Miere, G. (Fam. Primulaceae.)—An annual plant, growing in Europe and the United States. It has little odor, but a bitterish, somewhat acrid taste. The ancients esteemed it a counter-poison, and Orfila found three drachms of its extract to cause fatal gastroenteritis in a dog. It has been recommended as a local application to old and ill-conditional ulcers, and has been used as a folk-remedy in visceral obstructions, consumption, dropsy, etc. J. A. Heintzelman obtained from it a volatile oil of a strong, peculiar odor, a pungent and somewhat acrid taste, and the sp. gr. 0.987. Four drops (0.25 mil) of it produced intense headache and nausea, lasting for twenty-four hours, with pains throughout the body. According to Daccomo and Tommasoli, anagallis contains an active ferment, which rapidly digests raw meat. (Rassegna di Sci. Med., 1892, No. 4.) A. caerulea (Schreb.) Ledeb., having blue petals, is a variety of A. arvensis, and shares its medicinal properties.
