Geraniaceae, the geranium family.
Description:
Plant:
Low, hairy plant, 6"-12" high with dissected, fern-like leaves, and small clusters of pink, five-petalled
flowers. Perennial.
Flowers:
Pink, 1/2", with five petals and five sepals. Five fertile stamens form a central structure
that somewhat resembles a tiny, inner flower surrounded by five sterile stamens.
Flowers in small, umbel-like clusters with 3-10 blooms.
Leaves:
Mostly basal, doubly pinnate, dissected into small lobed leaflets. Overall aspect is somewhat
fernlike, the entire compound leaf to 6" of more in length.
Fruit:
A five-parted, beak-like capsule.
Blooming:
April-October
Habitat:
Fields, roadsides, disturbed areas.
Comments:
Introduced from Mediterranean Europe, the name derives from the beak-like fruiting capsule,
a similarity shared with the native Cranesbill or wild geranium (Geranium maculatum),
another member of the geranium family. The latter is
a considerably larger, and more conspicuous plant with palmately-lobed leaves that
blooms primarily in the spring.
Where to find it:
Uncommon and sporadic in the park. I have found it along the eastern boundary with the
medical campus.