Erodium castellanum (Pau)Guitt.

Clade II; Subclade 4; Section Cicutaria, Subsection Acaulia

Erodium castellanum is a stemless perennial up to 40cm with branching rootstock.

Leaves are long, ± flat, pinnate without intercalary leaflets, hairy, soft, green, ultimate segments  sharp-toothed, and ovate in outline (not linear).

Inflorescence: Umbels rise from the rosettes: bracts green, 5-6mm; flower deep pink, upper 2 petals lightly marked, sometimes lower petals have a smaller mark.

Fruit: Mericarp 8-10 mm, glabrous; foveole extended, eglandular, large with a glabrous external border; beak 40-50 mm. 2n=40, 60

Distribution: endemic to Spain: mountains of Sierra Urbion, Sierra del Moncayo: grassy areas in schist, at 1400-1600m.

Publication details: Guitt. In: Boissiera, 20: 1 17. (1972).

Erodium carvifolium and castellanum

Erodium carvifolium Boiss. & Reut. was first named and described by Boissier and Reuter in 1842.

Erodium castellanum (Pau) Guitt. was originally described as Erodium romanum var. castellanum Pau in 1906.

Erodium castellanum (Pau) Guitt. was named as a full species in Contribution a l’etude biosystematique du genre Erodium L’Her (1972). Professor Guy-Georges Guittoneau found E. castellanum is genetically isolated from E. carvifolium sens strict.. In his experiments, he could only produce sterile plants i.e. plants that would not set seed, when crossing the two species, and then only with E. carvifolium sens strict. as the seed parent, he could not produce a plant with E. castellanum as the seed parent.

Interestingly, E. castellanum will cross with E. manescavi both ways to give fertile plants, E. carvifolium sens strict. will not.

These 2 species have recently been merged as one species, Erodium carvifolium, in Flora Iberica, but are kept as separate species here, for the reasons given above.

Distribution: In stony soils, in pastures (800) 1000-2000 m – in 3 distinct areas

  1. E. carvifolium – Central System -Guadarrama, Gredos and Sierra de Bejar
  2. E. castellanum – NW of the Tiberico System -Urbion, Neila and Cameros
  3. E. castellanum – Montes de Leon and Aledanos, C of the Cantabrian Range