Erodium brachycarpum

Erodium brachycarpum is a species of flowering plant in the geranium family known by the common names hairy-pitted stork's-bill[1] and shortfruit stork's bill.[2] It is native to southern Europe but it is known elsewhere as an introduced species and often a weed, such as the west coast of the United States where it is widespread in California and Oregon.

Erodium brachycarpum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Geraniales
Family: Geraniaceae
Genus: Erodium
Species:
E. brachycarpum
Binomial name
Erodium brachycarpum

Description

This annual herb grows up to about half a meter tall and bears lobed, hairy, petioled leaves with blades up to 10 centimeters wide. The inflorescence is an umbel of lavender flowers with five petals each about a centimeter long and often dark-striped. The fruit has a hairy base just over half a centimeter long and a style which may reach 8 centimeters in length.

This plant is very similar to Erodium botrys and is often overlooked as such, but brachycarpum is a smaller plant overall. Flowers are about a third the size of botrys, and the style is smaller than 80 mm rather than larger. Minor differences exist in the seeds themselves, as well.[3]

References
  1. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. "Erodium brachycarpum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Tony Valois, http://www.smmflowers.org/


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.