Geranium molle may be distinguished from geranium pusillum by its longer stem hairs and by having ten fertile stamens rather than five.
Common name:
Dove's-foot cranesbill
Family:
Scientific name:
Geranium molle
Main flower color:
Range:
All across the UK; most common in the south of England
Height:
Up to 20 cm
Habitat:
Dry grassland, roadsides, fields, dunes
Flowers:
Up to 10 mm in diameter; five overlapping pink or sometimes white petals, notched to about a third of their length and crossed by a few darker veins, above a hairy green calyx divided into ovate lobes. At the centre are ten stamens, all topped by blue-purple anthers
Leaves:
Partially divided (at most 3/4 of the way to the base) into five or seven lobes, which are widest towards the tip. Lobes are shallowly divided into blunt-pointed segments. Sparsely to densely hairy
Season:
April to August
Rarity:
★★★★★
