Erodium ciconium (L) L’Her
Erodium ciconium is an annual to biennial caulescent herb 20-120 cm, with fine branching roots, stems branching, ascending to procumbent, with eglandular hairs and many patent glandular hairs.
Leaves triangular-ovate to elliptical basal leaves with limb 4-8.2 x 3-6 cm and a petiole of 6.6-11.2 cm; cauline leaves with limb 4-6.6 x 2.2-4.3 cm; from entire to bipinnatisect – pinnate at least at the leaf base, at the tip the leaf can run together to be pinnatifid, with small intercalary segments between the principal segments; principal segments 9-14, dentate to pinnatipartite; laminae rather broad, soft and hairy, blunt. Stipules 5.2-10.9 mm, ovate to narrowly lanceolate, with a scarious margin and glandular hairs on the abaxial face, ciliate, green to brown.
Inflorescence: Umbels with 3-5(7) flowers, axial; bracts 4-6, 1.8-4.6 mm, free, ovate lanceolate, scarious and with glandular hairs on the abaxial face, ciliate, whitish; pedicels with glandular hairs; sepals 6.2-8 x 2.2-3.6 mm, with glandular hairs on the abaxial face; mucro 2-2.5 mm; petals 9-12.3 x 4.5-7.2 violet to blue-mauve, all similar, with slightly marked veins, with no spot at the base, petals falling usually by noon; Nectaries blackish, sometimes hairy. Staminodes 2-2.2 x 0.7-1 mm, whitish, ciliate but not hairy. Stamens with filaments 4.2-5 x 1.1-1.3 mm, gradually to sometimes abruptly widening at the base, dark pink, ciliate. Anthers blue-violet to dark violet, pollen yellow. Stigmas purple to violet. Flowers March to July, sometimes to September.
Fruit 82-105 mm; mericarp 9-11mm, dark brown, sparsely course hairy; foveole large, densely covered in capitate hairs, without furrow; awn barbate with sparse long hairs and short hairs; beak thin, near rapier-like where that of E. gruinum is fat but a similar length range (60-110mm) & E. telavivense 120mm. 2n=18
Distribution: In cultivated land, roadsides, in fertile soils 100-1250 m; Tibet, Afghanistan, Tadzhikistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, to central and south Europe, the Arabia peninsula, and north Africa, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Spain, Portugal (Alto Alentejo only)
Synonym: Erodium cyconioides Tzvelev
First published in W.Aiton, Hortus Kew. 2: 415 (1789)
