Short Description
The small-flowered crane's-bill can grow up to 50 cm high.
The softly haired leaves are palmate and divided once or twice. The leaf ends are blunt. The leaves grow at the base in a rosette and are opposite each other.
The stem can grow erect or prostrate. It is highly branched and short haired.
The flowers are usually in pairs at the end of the stem. They have five, slightly incised, purple petals. They have purple anthers in the centre.
The fruit is a beak-shaped, splitting capsule.
Features
Small-flowered crane's-bill
Geranium pusillum
five purple petals
beaked fruit
In the city
The small-flowered crane's-bill prefers nutrient-rich and especially nitrogen-rich soils. It is therefore increasingly found in fields and rubble areas in the city. However, it can also be found along roadsides.
Fun Facts
When the fruit ripens, the five valves of the fruit detach and curl up. In the process, the seeds are ejected. They reach a hurling distance of almost two metres.
Pollination is by insects or self-pollination.
The flowering period is from May to June.
It is a one to two year old plant. This means that a plant lives for one or two years, but flowers only once and dies after the seeds have matured.
The scientific name Geranium means crane in Greek and, like the English name crane’s-bill, refers to the beak-like fruit.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Sources
Habitus, AnRo0002, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20130611Storchenschnabel_Saarbruecken3.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
Blätter, Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kleine_ooievaarsbek_plant_(Geranium_pusillum_plant).jpg
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Blüte und Früchte, M.J. , PD, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kleiner_Storchschnabel_-_Bl%C3%BCte_und_Fruchtstand.jpg
Kammer, P. M. (2016) Pflanzen einfach bestimmen. Schritt für Schritt einheimische Arten kennenlernen, Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Page „Kleiner Storchschnabel“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 08.02.2018, 18:56 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kleiner_Storchschnabel&oldid=173798198 (Accessed: 06.03.2018).
Bundesamt für Naturschutz (n.d.) Artensteckbriefe, URL: http://floraweb.de/pflanzenarten/artenhome.xsql?suchnr=2686& (Accessed: 06.03.2018).