spidra's Scarlet Pimpernel

I grew up in Southern California and saw this plant often. However, no one in my family gardened or was much interested in nature so I never knew the name of the plant other than “weed”. I was stunned to find out rather recently that it was the same Scarlet Pimpernel the romance hero was named after. It’s a Mediterranean native so it’s not surprising that I’ve seen it in both coastal Southern and Northern California as those are also Mediterranean climates. Recently I bought a related plant – the blue pimpernel – that is a bit more refined in that the blooms are larger. Still, this is a pretty enough plant and is so retiring compared to my true garden enemies that I don’t bear it much ill will.