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Thunberg's geranium is a wild cranesbill native to East Asia, where it has long been one of Japan's best-known folk remedies for diarrhea. In the U.S. it is an introduced plant that has gone wild in scattered spots in the East. Its small pink to white flowers usually come in pairs, and it is also called dewdrop crane's-bill.

Appearance

Growth form
A hairy perennial about 16–28 in (40–70 cm) tall, with stems that trail at the base and turn upward at the tips.
Leaves
Opposite, hand-shaped leaves cut into 3–5 lobes.
Flowers
Five petals about ⅓ in (7–10 mm) long, pink, purple, or white, often with darker streaks. Flowers usually come two to a stalk.
Fruit
A long, beaked fruit that splits into five parts when ripe; the parts curl upward and fling out the seeds.

Look-alikes

Siberian crane's-billGeranium sibiricum

Siberian crane's-bill usually has one flower per stalk, with smaller, narrower petals (about ¼ in, 5–7 mm long). Thunberg's geranium usually has two flowers per stalk and broader petals.

Why they get mixed upBoth are Asian cranesbills that have in New York, with small pale flowers and lobed leaves.

Carolina crane's-billGeranium carolinianum

Carolina crane's-bill is a low annual (4–16 in, 10–40 cm) whose leaf lobes are cut again into narrow segments, with tiny pale pink flowers about ⅕ in (5 mm) across clustered at the stem tips. Thunberg's geranium is a taller perennial with broader lobes and flowers about ½ in (1–1.5 cm) across.

Why they get mixed upIt is a native North American cranesbill with similar pale pink flowers and hand-shaped leaves.

Where it lives

Typical habitats
  • roadsides
  • fields and meadows
  • waste areas
Range
Native to Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan. In the U.S. it has naturalized in scattered places in the East, including New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Conservation

IUCN Red List
NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories
  • Beyond home use, Japan also recognizes it as an official medicine for diarrhea.

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Thunberg's Geranium (Geranium thunbergii) — identification, habitat & look-alikes | Moeyo