Geranium molle, the dove's-foot crane's-bill or dovesfoot geranium, is an

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 ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plant of the 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 ...

Description

''Geranium molle'' is a small plant reaching on average in height.Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982. Vol. II, pag. 10 It is a very branched plant, quite hairy, with several ascending stems. The leaves are palmate, cut 5 to 9 times. The basal leaves are arranged in a rosette, the upper ones are sessile, rounded and hairy, with a long petiole of about . The flowers are pinkish-purple, 8–12 mm in diameter, with very jagged petals. It blooms from April to September. The flowers are

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

and mainly pollinated by

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

. Fruits are glabrous, usually with 6-9 transverse ridges.

Synonyms

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean areas, but has naturalized in other parts of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, in southwestern and central Asia and in North Africa, though it may have already been in those parts and areas, just not properly identified. It is considered an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

in North America, where it is known as Dovefoot Geranium or Awnless Geranium. Although non-native in parts of its range, this species poses little threat to native ecosystems. It is found in dry meadows, hedges, banks and forest edges. It prefers sunny places on sandy and relatively dry soils, at an altitude of above sea level.

Herbal medicine

Nicholas Culpeper Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His boo ...

in his herbal of 1652 suggested a variety of uses for ''G. molle'', including the treatment of internal and external injuries. A note was made that the bruised leaf healed external injuries faster. A decoction in wine was said to relieve gout and other joint pains.

Gallery

File:Geranium molle Sturm4.jpg, Figure from Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen, 1796 File:Geranium molle 001.JPG, Plant of ''Geranium molle'' File:(MHNT) Geranium molle - leaves, buds flower.jpg, Leaves, buds, flower File:Geranium molle.jpg, Flowers of ''Geranium molle'' File:Geranium molle IMG 2481.jpg, Close-up of a flower of ''Geranium molle'' File:(MHNT) Geranium molle - Immature fruit.jpg, Immature fruit File:Geranium molle IMG 2469.jpg, Hairy stem of ''Geranium molle'' File:Jong blad van Geranium molle var. Brutium. Locatie, Tuinreservaat Jonker vallei.jpg, Young leaves of ''Geranium molle var. Brutium''. File:Wiki-Geranium-Molle-Spring-Automn.jpg, Leaf colouring from spring (top left) to autumn (bottom right)

References

External links

Universiteit Leuven Photo gallery

Jepson Manual TreatmentU.C. Photo gallery
Flowers in Israel {{Taxonbar, from=Q164017

molle Modular lightweight load-carrying equipment, or MOLLE (pronounced ), is the current generation of load-bearing equipment used by the United States Army. MOLLE equipment uses Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS)-type webbing – rows of hea ...

Flora of Europe Flora of the United Kingdom Flora of Lebanon Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus