Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Geranium molle

Flowers, spent flowers, and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Scottsdale Bush Heritage Reserve near Bredbo

Flowering plant. Photographer Don Wood, Murrumbidgee River, ACT

Line drawings. c. leaf; seeds with surface detail. M Moir, National Herbarium of Victoria, © 2021 Royal Botanic Gardens Board

Common name

Cranesbill geranium

Family

Geraniaceae

Where found

Grassy areas, gardens, and disturbed areas, often in moist or swampy sites. Widespread.

Notes

Introduced annual or biennial herb to 0.5 m high or prostrate. Stems covered in soft hairs, sometimes sticky hairy. Leaves opposite each other or alternating up the stems, 0.5–3 cm long, 10–40 mm wide, hairy, almost circular to kidney shaped, with 5–9 lobes, the lobes broad and with 3–5 broad teeth. Flowers mauve to pink or magenta, with 5 deeply notched petals each 4–5 mm long. Anthers mauve. Sepals hairy with short glandular and longer simple hairs, 4–5 mm long, mucro absent or to 0.5 mm long. Flowers paired. Flowering: September–January. Seeds greenish brown to brown, more or less smooth (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see).

 Geranium molle subsp. molle in NSW.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Geranium~molle  (accessed 20 April 2021)