Nomenclature

Species name:

Geranium molle   L.

Author(s):

Carl von Linné
   Sweden, 1707-1778

Common name:

Dove's Foot Crane's Bill
Woodland geranium
Dovefoot Geranium
Soft cranesbill

Maltese name:

Ġeranju ta' sieq il-Hamiema

Plant Family:

Geraniaceae   (Geranium Family)

Name Derivation:

Geranium = from the Greek geranos - "crane", referring to the slender beak-like fruit. (Greek);
molle = Soft, referring to the soft hairs. (Latin).

Synonyms:

Geranium stipulare, G. argenteum, G. lucanum, G. malvifolium

Plant Description

Life Cycle:

Annual

Habitat:

Rocky slopes or valley sides, woodland and also reported in roadsides. Prefers shaded habitats.

Sources in Malta:

Frequent such as in Buskett, Wied Incita, Chadwick Lakes, Wied Anglu and Wied id-Dis.

Plant Height:

15-35cm

Flowering Time:

Jan-Apr

An annual plant is densely covered with fine hairs making it have a velvety smooth texture, hence its species name 'molle' (=soft). Two types of hairs exist, short and often glandular, and long and eglandular, both silvery-gray in colour. The plant forms most of it branching at the base, giving rise to a number of ascending, long-petiolated leaves or stems. Length of petioles decrease towards the upper part of the stem, resulting in sub-sessile leaves at the uppermost part.

The general shape of the leaves is rounded, but radially cut into 3, 5 or 7 lobes up to 70% of the laminar radius. Geranium rotundifolium have leaves of a more or less similar shape but differs in the cut which is only up to 40% of the laminar radius. The individual lobes are themselves shortly cut into 3 smaller segments, and each segment has a further 3 shallow marginal teeth (the central one broader), giving an overall appearance of dentate leaf margin.

The stalked flowers are borne in pairs or few-flowered cymes. They have a calyx composed of 5 free, half-erect, oval sepals (5mm long) covered with very long hairs and ending with a short bristle-like tip. The purple-magenta corolla is composed of 5, free petals (4-8mm long) with a well-marked bilobed tip, sometimes cut up till third of the petal length. This feature is the easiest way to distinguish between the similar G. rotundifolium which have entire petal tips (un-notched). G. molle also shows 5 violet, diverging veins on each petal.

The female reproductive part consists of a superior ovary with 5 fused carpels, a single style and stigma that splits into 5 filiform parts having a reddish-purple colour. The male reproductive part consists of 5 pairs of stamen which have thin white filaments and bluish-violet anthers, more or less encircling the stigma. They produce yellow pollen, and often fall out at the later phase of the blossoming period.

The fruit is a slender, 10-18mm long column referred to as a beak, which was the style in the flowering phase. At the base of the beak there are 5 separated mericarps - rounded and brown structures with transverse ridges and each holding one seed. These are connected to the upper part of the beak by a strap-like appendage (called rostrum) making the outer wall of the beak itself. When mature, this rostrum shrinks and pulls up the mericarps from their base with a sudden, inward-rolling (coiling) movement. While doing so, part of the mericarp wall remains attached at the base (receptacle) and so the seed is now partially exposed in the broken mericarp. During the sudden twirling movement of the mericarp, the loosely seated seed is ejected out to long distances. What is left is a coiled rostrum with an empty, half broken mericarp. An elaborated mechanical dispersion of many Geraniaceae species.

Further Information and Links

Buy from and support MaltaWildPlants.com

Submit More Information