Erodium absinthoides agg.
The Erodium absinthoides complex (subsection Absinthoidea) covers a group of about 30 taxa, of which about 17 are in Turkey, the rest range from the Balkans to Ukraine and the Russian steppes. These have been treated in various ways by botanists. In the Euro+Med Plantbase for example 12 of these taxa are grouped into 1 species ranging from the Balkans and Greece through to Armenia and Georgia. The PlantList (Kew) lists 21 species and 7 subspecies. See below.
Here we will look at 5 taxa which are historically listed as subspecies of E. absinthoides. But these taxa are very different to each other as we will see. So here we will look at them as distinct species. They all have some characteristics in common: they have intercalary leaflets – small lobes of leaf between the main leaflets, and they are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.
There follows a key to help distinguish between the 5 species. See the separate pages for more details of these species.
- Lamina of basal leaves oblong, length 2-4 x width, segments laxly and deeply 2-pinnatifid into lanceolate acute laciniae; stems bearing 1-12 peduncles ………………………………….…….………….……….…………….……………………………….………….. 2
2. Leaves densely canescent; stems grey with short, retrorsely adpressed hairs; flowers white, in June………..…….. Erodium absinthoides
2. Leaves greenish to grey green, adpressed-pilose; stems patently hirsute, often also bearing subsessile glands; flowers lavender-blue, in July to August ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Erodium armenum
2. Leaves green to grey-green, narrow leaf segments, ultimate segments narrow-linear; flowers pink, April to May, mucro long 1.5-2mm, beak 4.5 – 6cm ……………………………….…………………………………………………………… Erodium elatum
- Lamina of basal leaves ovate, length c. 1.5 x width, segments 1-2-pinnatifid into short obtuse laciniae or teeth; stems bearing 1-2 peduncles …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
3. Segments deeply pinnatifid, subsericeous; flowers bright pink, June to July………. Erodium latifolium
3. Segments lobed only to the middle, greenish; flowers white, July to August …………. Erodium haradjianii
Erodium absinthoides Willd. (sens strict.) Leaves are silvery grey, narrowly oblong, length 2-4 times the width, with segments laxly and deeply bipinnate into lanceolate acute lobes, densely canescent. The flowering stems bear 1 to 12 peduncles of white flowers with notched petals in June. Sepals with a long mucro 2 – 2.8 mm; beak is 4 to 4.5 cm. Found at 100-1600 m, western central Turkey. Synonym: Erodium absinthoides subsp. absinthoides.
Erodium armenum (Trautv.)Woronow Leaves are grey-green, narrowly oblong, length 2-4 times the width, with segments laxly and deeply bipinnate into lanceolate acute lobes, adpressed pilose. The flowering stems bear 1 to 12 peduncles of lavender-blue flowers in July and August. Sepals with a short mucro; beak is 3.5 to 4 cm. Found at 2300-3200 m, eastern Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. Synonym: Erodium absinthoides subsp. armenum (Trautv.) P.H.Davis
Erodium elatum (Form.) R.T.F. Clifton Leaves are grey-green, oblong, 2-3 pinnatisect, with ultimate segments narrow linear. The flowering stems bear peduncles of 4 to 8 pink to bluish-violet flowers in April and May. Sepals with a long mucro of 1.5 to 2 mm. The beak is long being 4.5 to 6 cm. Found above 1600 m, in Europe, in Bulgaria, Greece, Bosnia, Serbia and Macedonia. Synonym: Erodium absinthoides subsp. balcanicum (Micevski) Greuter & Burdet
Erodium haradjianii P.H.Davis Leaves are greyish, oblong-ovate, length 1.5 times their width, pinnatisect with segments lobed only to the middle, with short obtuse teeth. The flowering stems bear 1 to 2 peduncles of 3 to 6 white flowers in July and August. Sepals with a short mucro. The beak is short at 2.5 to 4.2 cm. Found 1500 to 2000 m, endemic to Turkey in one province Osmaniye in the north Amanos Mountains at Düldül Dag. Synonym: Erodium absinthoides subsp. haradjianii (P.H.Davis) P.H.Davis
Erodium latifolium (Davis) R.T.F. Clifton Leaves are silvery, ovate, length 1.5 times their width, simply 1-2-pinnatifid, with short obtuse teeth, leaf surface is subsericeous. The flowering stems bear 1 to 2 peduncles of bright pink flowers in June and July. Found 2500 m, only found in one location on rough scree limestone in Turkey; province Trabzon. Synonym: Erodium absinthoides subsp. latifolium (P.H.Davis) P.H.Davis
Remarks: So, we have 5 distinct taxa with good character differences, from different habitats, at differing altitudes, in different locations and different flowering times.
The populations of these species are widely separated. The centre of the E. elatum population is some 1700km from the E. armenum population – about the distance from London to southern Spain.
Euro+Med PlantBase
This website has these five taxa all lumped into one taxon – Erodium absinthoides, not even as subspecies.
The following have also been listed as synonyms:
Erodium anthemifolium M. Bieb
Leaves similar to E. alpinum, i.e. unlike E. absinthoides, grey white; flowering stems diffuse, elongate, leafy; Flowers blue, July. Caucasus East.
Erodium sibthorpianum Boiss
Habit caespitose, forming dense wide hard hummocks, 5-12 cm high; leaves bipinnatisect, silver-grey; flowers white or lilac July to August; 2300-2500m, Uludag, NW. Türkiye
Erodium cinereum Boiss. & Heldr.
Plant caespitose, covered with short adpressed hairs; flowers rose pink, June
Erodium olympicum Clementi
With lax rosettes of greenish pinnatisect leaves, leaflets pinnatifid, lobules not further toothed or cut, distinguishing it from many of the Absinthoidea group; flowering stem 7-12cm , unbranched; flowers white, August; Uludag, NW. Türkiye.
Erodium vetteri Barbey & Fors.-Major
Densely caespitose perennial, 5-12 cm; basal leaves 2-pinnatisect, canescent; flowers white, 7-8mm; Greek island Samos.
Erodium hakkiaricum P.H.Davis
Slender prostrate perennial; leaves laxly 2-3-pinnatisect; Flowers small, white; Kara Dag at 2900m, in Province Hakkiari, southeastern Türkiye
Erodium sosnowskianum Federov
Squat plant with a thick rhizome; leaves are bipinnately divided; flowers purple, June; Armenia at 2400-3000m
As these taxa have distinct identities, it seems best to keep them all as separate species to ensure data is not lost.
Kew – Plants Of The World Online
The Kew list has the five species above listed as subspecies except that Erodium elatum seems to have been united with the Greek species Erodium guicciardii Heldr. as Erodium absinthoides subsp. guicciardii (Heldr.) Maire & Petitm.!
Erodium elatum – leaves grey-green, ultimate segments narrow linear, umbels of 4 to 8 pink to bluish-violet flowers, with rounded petals, in April and May.
Erodium guiccardii – leaves silvery-tomentose, final leaf segments scimitar-lanceolate, umbels of 2-7, satin pink, petals rather pointed. Flowers late July and August
Kew lists the following as species:
Erodium anthemifolium M. Bieb
Erodium sibthorpianum Boiss
Erodium vetteri Barbey & Fors.-Major
Erodium hakkiaricum P.H.Davis
Erodium sosnowskianum Federov
However Erodium cinereum Boiss. & Heldr. is listed as a synonym of Erodium absinthoides subsp. absinthoides.
And Erodium olympicum Clementi is listed as a synonym of Erodium sibthorpianum Boiss.
