SCARLET PIMPERNEL

We seek him here, we seek him there,

Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven?—Is he in hell?
That dammed, elusive Pimpernel.

From The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy 1905

This tiny red flower was chosen by Sir Percy Blakeney, hero of the above novel, as his symbol and nom de guerre.

It's rather a sprawling plant with trailing, square stems and leaves in pairs, growing on disturbed ground.

The tiny scarlet flowers with a purple centre have no nectar to attract insects and only open in sunny weather between 8.00 am and 3.00 pm.

This it is why it got its other names like poorman's-weather-glass and shepherd's-sundial.