Carolina cranesbill

Carolina cranesbill, also called Carolina geranium, is a 4″ to 24″ tall, annual forb rises on several stems from a central taproot. It is usually about 12″ to 24″ tall at maturity.

The stems are ascending, freely branched, and covered with soft, spreading hairs. Some of the upper branches have glandular hairs between the nodes.

The leaves are opposite, 1⅛″ to 2¾″ wide, and palmately divided into 5 to 9 deep lobes, cut almost to the base. The leaf margins have widely spaced, deeply-cut teeth, that may amount to secondary lobes. The lobe tips are blunt.

The inflorescence is a tight cluster of many flowers in the upper leaf axils. The cluster is at the end of a long stalk. The individual flowers are on two shorter individual flower stalks that are about the same length as the sepals.

The flowers are ⅓″ to ½″ (possibly ⅔″) wide with 5 petals and 5 sepals. The sepals have short, stiff bristles at their tips. The petals are pink and slightly notched at the tip.

The fruit is a 1″ to 2″ long, hairy capsule with a beak at the tip that is a little over 1/16″ long. The fruit is in the shape of a crane’s bill, giving this plant one of its common names, Carolina Crane’s-bill.

4″ to 24″

Pink

Bicknell’s cranesbill (Geranium bicknellii) leaves are divided into usually 5 deep lobes, cut almost to the base. The inflorescence is a cluster of 2 flowers at the end of a long stalk. The individual flowers are on two shorter individual flower stalks that are more than twice the length of the sepals. The fruit is ¾″ to 1″ long.

Meadow geranium (Geranium pratense) has no central stem, rather two basal leaves and a flowering stem with a single pair of opposite leaves. The leaf stalks and flower stalks are covered with sticky, glandular hairs. The inflorescence is a small cluster at the end of a long stalk. The flowers are large, 1″ to 1½″ wide. The flower petals are bright blue-violet and are rounded, not notched, at the tips. It is an introduced species. It has been recorded only in St. Louis County.

Robert’s Geranium (Geranium robertianum) leaves are divided into usually 3 to 5 leaflets. The leaflets are cut all the way to the base, with at least the terminal leaflet on an evident leaflet stalk. It has been recorded only in St. Louis County.

Siberian cranesbill (Geranium sibiricum) flowers occur singly or in pairs. The fruit has a beak at the tip that is a less than 1/16″ long. It has been recorded only in Houston and Goodhue Counties.

Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) has no central stem, rather two basal leaves and a flowering stem with a single pair of opposite leaves. The inflorescence is a flat or round topped cluster of 1 to 6 flowers at the end of a long stalk. The flowers are large, 1″ to 1½″ wide. The flower petals are rose-purple, pale purple, violet-purple or, rarely, white, with darker fine lines radiating from the center of the flower.

Dry. Disturbed areas. Full to partial sun.

May to September

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

iNaturalist has a few unconfirmed and one doubtful record in the Metro Region (light green on the map).

Native

Infructescence

Greg Watson
6/14/2024

Location: La Crescent, MN (Winona County)