Geraniaceae – Geranium Family

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Geraniaceae – Geranium Family GERANIACEAE – GERANIUM FAMILY Plant: mostly herbs, some shrubs Stem: Root: Leaves: alternate or opposite, all kinds of leaf types from simple to often palmately (rarely pinnately) compound – many deeply lobed or cleft, resembling Buttercups; stipules present Flowers: mostly perfect, mostly regular (actinomorphic); flowers often pink, lavender or white; mostly 5 petals and sepals; 5,10 or 15 stamens, often 10 in 2 series; ovary superior, 5 carpels, or sometimes 3, styles usually separate Fruit: seeds mature in beak-like pistil splitting into strips (carpels) upon ripening, styles often persistent; often used in technical classifications Other: many cultivated; Dicotyledons Group Genera: 11+ genera, many species; locally Erodium (stork’s bill, filaree), Geranium (geranium, crane’s bill) WARNING – family descriptions are only a layman’s guide and should not be used as definitive Flower Morphology in the Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Examples of some common genera Redstem Stork’s Bill [Storksbill; Alfilaria; Red-Stemmed Filaree] Dovefoot Geranium Erodium cicutarium (L.) L'Hér. ex Ait. (Introduced) Geranium molle L. (Introduced) Wild [Spotted] Geranium [Cranesbill] Geranium maculatum L. Robert Geranium [Herb-Robert] Geranium robertianum L. ssp. robertianum GERANIACEAE – GERANIUM FAMILY Redstem Stork’s Bill [Storksbill; Alfilaria; Red-Stemmed Filaree]; Erodium cicutarium (L.) L'Hér. ex Ait. (Introduced) Pineywoods [Purple Wild] Geranium; Geranium caespitosum James Carolina Cranesbill[Carolina Geranium]; Geranium carolinianum L. var. carolinianum Long-Stalk Crane’s Bill; Geranium columbinum L. ( Introduced) Cutleaf Geranium; Geranium dissectum L. (Introduced) Wild [Spotted] Geranium; Geranium maculatum L. Dovefoot Geranium; Geranium molle L. (Introduced) Hedgerow Geranium; Geranium pyrenaicum Burm. f. (Introduced) Richardson's Geranium; Geranium richardsonii Fisch. & Trautv. Robert Geranium [Herb-Robert]; Geranium robertianum L. ssp. robertianum Redstem Stork’s Bill USDA [Storksbill; Alfilaria; Red- Stemmed Filaree] Erodium cicutarium (L.) L'Hér. ex Ait. (Introduced) Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) University of Toledo Campus, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 5-petaled flower, pink or purple; leaves twice- pinnate, first cut to base; hairy, somewhat prostrate plant with red stems, much branched; early spring to late fall (even winter in places) [V Max Brown, 2005] Pineywoods [Purple USDA Wild] Geranium Geranium caespitosum James Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Near Pagosa Springs, Archoleta County, Colorado Notes: mostly 5-lobed flower, pink to purple, styles exerted, 1 to several long peduncles with 1 to several flowers; leaves cut 3-5 times, lobes somewhat rounded; fruit a schizocarp; highly variable species; spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2017] Carolina Cranesbill [Carolina USDA Geranium] Geranium carolinianum L. var. carolinianum Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: flower white to pinkish-white, short stalked, sepals awn tipped; leaves with 5-7 main lobes; hairy plant, becomes tinged with red at nodes and leaves with maturity; beak of fruit short; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2005] Long-Stalk Crane’s Bill USDA Geranium columbinum L. ( Introduced) Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Wire Road Conservation Area, Stone County, Missouri Notes: flower light purple to reddish purple and notched at tip (petals up to 1 cm), sepals with an awn-like extension, flower stalk hairy and up to 6 cm (4 to 10x length of petals); both basal and stem leaves, stem leaves opposite and somewhat circular in outline with up to 7 deep lobes; hairy plant, becomes tinged with red at nodes and leaves with maturity; beak of fruit short; old fields and disturbed areas; spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2014] Cutleaf Geranium USDA Geranium dissectum L. (Introduced) Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Near Cherokee Prairie Natural Area, Franklin County, Arkansas Notes: 5-petaled flower, pink to purple, notched, sepals almost as long as petals, somewhat acute (awned), hairy but hairs not very long; leaves somewhat spherical but deeply incised above (segments linear), less so toward base, hairy; stem densely hairy (retrorse), strongly branching from central point; disturbed areas; spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2012] Wild [Spotted] Geranium USDA [Cranesbill] Geranium maculatum L. Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: mostly 5-lobed flower, pink, purple to white, 1 to several long peduncles with 1 to several flowers; usually a single pair of large, 3-5 deeply cut or lobed leaves on long petioles, basal leaves may also be present from rhizomes; spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2004] Dovefoot Geranium USDA Geranium molle L. (Introduced) Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Greene County, Missouri Notes: 5-petaled flower, pink to purple, notched, 10 stamens, sepals somewhat blunt to mostly acute with small point; leaves alternate, basal leaves branching from base on long hairy petioles, deeply lobed but not compound, segments usually 3-lobed; mowing has flattened plant shown; spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2010] Richardson's USDA Geranium Geranium richardsonii Fisch. & Trautv. Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Notes: 5-lobed flower, white, often with purple veins, petals clawed and long hairy at base, sepals green, lanceolate, with awl-like tips, with 1 to several flowers; 3-5 deeply cut or lobed leaves on long petioles; foothills to subalpine environments; summer [V Max Brown, 2012] Robert Geranium USDA [Herb-Robert] Geranium robertianum L. ssp. robertianum Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 5 petaled flower, pink to purplish usually with white streaks, sepals filiform tipped, long hairs, peduncle long usually with 2 flowers; leaves compound, 3-5 leaflets which are deeply pinnately divided, terminal leaflet stalked; stems branching, hairy; often on shaded calcareous rock outcroppings; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2008].
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