GERANIACE/E 67 



ERODIUM L'Heritier. STORK'S-BILL. 



* Leaves toothed or pinnately cleft, not pinnatisect or pinnately divided down to 

 the roc his. 



E. malacoides Willd. Annual, pubescent-glandular. Leaves oval .cordate 

 base, crenate or simply lobed, lower leaves with petioles as long as the leaf. 

 Flowers lilac, very small, 3-8 in umbels on peduncles longer than the leaves; 

 petals oboval or sometimes in seedlings almost linear. Sepals mucronate, 35, 

 nerved. Stipules, ovate obtuse, whitish. Very variable. 



Road-sides and waste places, common. March- November. 



E. laciniatum Cav. Annual, hairy. Leaves pinnatifid or almost pinnati- 

 partite, with many narrow segments, sharply toothed. Flowers small, in umbels 

 on long peduncles, purple. Petals oblong. Stipules large, oval-obtuse. Sepals 

 mucronate. Valves of carpels spinally twisted 7-8 times, 4-6 cms. long. 



Sandy places near the sea, rare. May-June. 



E. Botrys Bert. Annual, hairy-glandular, robust; stems swollen at the 

 nodes. Lower leaves oval or oblong, inciso-pinnatifid ; upper ones bipinnatifid. 

 Flowers large, lilac-purple, veined, 1-4 on longish peduncles. Stipules small, 

 ovate-acute. Sepals mucronate. Beak very long (8-10 cms.), valves with 2-4 

 concentric folds. 



Fields and grassy places. April, May. 



E. Chium Willd. Annual or biennial, downy. Leaves oval, truncate or 

 cordate base, with 3-5 oval lobes which are toothed-crenate, the middle lobe 

 largest. Flowers pink, rather large in umbels of 3-8. Stipules ovate-acute. 

 Beak slender, 3-4 cms. long. 



Waste places near the sea in the Var. March-June. 



** Leaves all pinnatisect, with segments more or less divided. 



E. cicutarium L'Herit. Common Stork's bill. Annual or biennial, rather 

 hairy, very variable. Leaves oblong, 1-2 pinnate, leaflets pinnatifid, segments 

 narrow-cut; stipules ovate-acuminate. Stems prostrate or decumbent. Peduncles 

 longer than the leaves, erect. Flowers purplish-red, rose, or white, umbelled ; 

 petals rather unequal. Carpels hairy, with beak 2-4 cms. long. 



Fields, road-sides, etc., very common and variable. February-November. 



E. romanum Willd. Sometimes considered a sub-species of the last, from 

 which it differs by its peduncles and leaves being all radical, its larger flowers 

 with equal petals. It is a very elegant plant whose bright rosy flowers on long 

 naked peduncles are sometimes seen in midwinter near the coast. 



Road-sides and grassy iplaces. March-November. 



E. moschatum L'Herit. Musk Stork's-bill. A stout glandular-hairy 

 annual or biennial smelling of musk. Stems robust. Leaves long, pinnatisect, 

 lobes oval, inciso-dentate, subsessile ; often blotched with purple at the veins. 

 Flowers very small, pale pink or lilac, in umbels on long peduncles. Stipules 

 ovate-acute, not acuminate. 



Road-sides and waste places, common. March-September. 



E. ciconium Willd. Annual, hairy, glandular. Leaves large, oval or 

 oblong, pinnatisect with obtuse pinnatifid segments. Flowers purplish-blue, 

 veined, large, 2-7 on long axillary peduncles. Stipules small, ovate -acuminate, 

 not united. Sepals aristate, strongly nerved. Carpels with very long beak (6-8 

 cms.), valves without concentric folds. 



Grassy borders of fields, not common. March-June. 



OXALIS L. 



O. cernua Thunbg. = O. lybica Viv. (Plate IX). Stems and leaves all 

 radical, slightly downy. Leaves long-petioled, with 3 broad obcordate leaflets. 

 Peduncles with several flowers in more or less of an umbel. Flowers bright 

 lemon yellow, large. Originally from the Cape of Good Hope, this plant is well 



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