
''Erodium'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s in the botanical family
Geraniaceae
Geraniaceae is a family of flowering plants placed in the order Geraniales. The family name is derived from the genus '' Geranium''. The family includes both the genus '' Geranium'' (the cranesbills, or true geraniums) and the garden plants call ...
. The genus includes about 120 species with a subcosmopolitan distribution,
native
Native may refer to:
People
* '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood
* '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Nat ...
to Europe,
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
,
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and more locally in
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
.
They are
perennial
In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
s,
annual
Annual may refer to:
*Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
**Literary annual
*Annual plant
*Annual report
*Annual giving
*Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
*Annuals (band), a ...
s, or
subshrub
A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or undershrub is either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base (e.g. garden pink and florist's chrysanthemum). The term is often interch ...
s, with five-petalled flowers in shades of white, pink, and purple, that strongly resemble the better-known ''
Geranium
''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the gre ...
'' (crane's-bills).
In English-speaking areas of Europe, the species are known as stork's-bills.
In North America they are known as filarees or heron's bill.
Taxonomy
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
grouped in the same genus (''Geranium''), the three similar genera ''Erodium'', ''Geranium'', and ''
Pelargonium
''Pelargonium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennial plant, perennials, succulent plant, succulents, and shrubs, common name, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. ''Geranium'' is also ...
''. The distinction between them was made by
Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle
Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle (; 15 June 1746 – 18 August 1800) was an 18th-century French botanist and civil servant. Born into an affluent upper-class Parisian family, connections with the French Royal Court secured him the position ...
based on the number of
stamen
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s or
anther
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s; five in ''Erodium'',
[Parnell, J. and Curtis. ''Webb's An Irish Flora.'' Cork University Press. ] seven for ''Pelargonium'', and ten for ''Geranium''.
However, the three genera have the same characteristics in regard to their fruit, which resemble long bird beaks. That characteristic is the basis for the names: ''Geranium'' evokes the crane (Greek ''geranos''), ''Pelargonium'' the stork (''pelargos''), and ''Erodium'' the heron (''erodios''). ''Erodium'' species also differ in having
pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...
leaves, whereas ''Geranium'' species have
palmately
The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...
lobed or divided leaves.
[Streeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ''Collins Flower Guide''. Harper Collins ]
Species
, the ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families'' accepts 121 species:
Hybrids include:
*''
Erodium × anaristatum'' Andreas
*''
Erodium × bolosii
''Erodium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the botanical family Geraniaceae. The genus includes about 120 species with a subcosmopolitan distribution, native plant, native to Europe, North Africa, Asia, Australia, and more locally in North ...
'' Romo
*''
Erodium × fallax'' Jord.
*''
Erodium × viscosum'' Salzm. ex Delile
Ecology
''Erodium'' species are used as food plants by the
larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e of some
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
species including the
pasture day moth.
Cultivation
In cultivation, ''Erodium'' species are usually seen in
rockeries or
alpine gardens.
The
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
''E. × variabile'' 'Roseum' (''E. corsicum'' × ''E. reichardii''), a compact, spreading
perennial
In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
with rose-pink flowers in summer, has gained the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...
's
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
It includes the full range of cultivated p ...
.
Uses
Species such as ''E. cicutarium'' and ''E. moschatum'' are edible.
See also
*
Wool alien
References
Further reading
*
Geraniales genera
{{Geraniaceae-stub