Siberian cranesbill is a small Eurasian wild geranium that has turned up in scattered spots in the northeastern and Midwestern United States. Its tiny white to pale pink flowers, veined with rose, sit one per long stalk, which helps tell it apart from look-alike weedy geraniums.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A sprawling, much-branched, hairy perennial with stems about 1–3 ft (30–90 cm) long.
- Leaves
- Opposite leaves, deeply cut like an open hand into 3–5 pointed, coarsely toothed lobes.
- Flowers
- Five rounded petals, about 1/4 in (5–7 mm) long, usually white with fine rose-pink veins; usually one flower per stalk.
- Flowering time
- Summer into early fall, with only a few flowers open at a time.
- Fruit
- A hairy, beaked fruit that splits into five parts.
Look-alikes
Thunberg's geraniumGeranium thunbergii
Thunberg's geranium usually has two flowers per stalk and noticeably wider petals that are hairy near the base. Siberian cranesbill usually has one flower per stalk and narrow petals that are smooth on the upper surface.
Why they get mixed upBoth are small-flowered Asian geraniums found as introductions in New England.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- roadsides
- fields
- waste places
- disturbed woodlands
- Range
- Native from eastern Europe across temperate Asia. In the US it is a rare, scattered introduction, recorded in places such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Illinois.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows in open, disturbed ground, preferring partial sun and moist, fertile soil.
Life cycle
- Seed dispersal
- Each fruit section flings out a single seed, so plants can form small colonies.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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