Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Geranium solanderi
Common name
Native geranium, Austral cranesbill
Family
Geraniaceae
Where found
Dry forest, woodland, grassy areas, and moist sites. Widespread.
var. grande: Widespread but not common.
var. solanderi : Widespread.
Notes
Perennial herb to 0.5 m high or sprawling, bristly or hairy with coarse hairs, the hairs usually spreading, never pointing backwards and appressed, sometimes slightly sticky. Leaves opposite each other, appressed-hairy, almost round to kidney shaped, 1–4.5 cm long, 15–50 mm wide, with 5–10 lobes, the tips of each lobe divided into 2–5 lobes or teeth, tips of the terminal lobes blunt to almost pointed. Flowers pink, sometimes white, often with yellowish veins, with 5 petals to 12 mm long. Anthers pink to lemon with a purple line. Sepals with minute, glandular and simple hairs, and longer spreading hairs, margins occasionally translucent, 1-2.5 mm wide, mucro 0.5–0.9 mm long. Flowers paired, rarely single. Flowering: throughout the year. Seeds black, with coarse, more or less equal-sided pits (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see).
var. grande: Petals 10–12 mm long; sepals 6–9 mm long; seed cases 18–25 mm long; taproot swollen and branched but not turnip-like. All parts larger than in var. solanderi.
var. solanderi: Petals 3–8 mm long; sepals about 5 mm long; seed cases 12–15 mm long; taproot usually turnip-like.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
Vulnerable Vic.
PlantNET description of species and key to varieties: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Geranium~solanderi (accessed 22 January, 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
