GERANIUM FAMILY. Geraniaceae. 



ton stalked ^ slender plant, about a foot tall, with 



Crane's-bill pinkish, hairy stems and pretty leaves, 



Geranium thin in texture, with a dull surface; the 



columbinum seed-vessels erect, with bristly beaks. 



_ u . e The flowers grow in pairs and are less 



Spring, summer . 



California, etc. than half an inch across, with hairy ca- 

 lyxes and notched, purple or magenta 

 petals. This is naturalized from Europe, and common in 

 the East and grows along roadsides, at the edges of fields: 

 and woods. 



There are many kinds of Erodium, three native in the 

 Southwest and several more introduced, weeds in the Old 

 World and important forage plants in the West; leaves 

 often unequal, with one stipule on one side and two on the 

 other. They resemble Geranium, flower and fruit being 

 nearly the same, but only five of the stamens have anthers, 

 the alternate ones being scale-like, without anthers; styles 

 hairy inside. The Greek name means "heron, " in allusion 

 to the long beak of the capsule. 



Though not native, this is the common- 

 Red-stem ,..,.,.. . 



Filaree est kind, in the interior and semi-arid 



Erodium regions, and most valued for forage. 



deuterium When young it forms rosettes close to the 



ground, but grows taller and more strag- 

 All seasons 

 West, etc. gl m g- The stems are often reddish; the 



leaves somewhat hairy; the flowers small, 

 in clusters of four to eight, with four bracts at the base; the 

 petals purplish-pink, with darker veins, and hairy at the 

 base, the two upper petals slightly smaller; the sepals tipped 

 with one or two bristles. The ovary is beaked by the 

 united styles, the beak, when the seeds ripen, separating 

 into five, long tails, which twist spirally when dry and 

 untwist when moistened. This is common west of the 

 Rockies, blooming more or less all the year round, varying 

 in size in different soils. Filaree is a corruption of .the 

 Spanish Alfilerilla, from "alfiler," a "pin." Other names 

 are Pinkets, Pinclover, Storksbill, and Clocks, so-called 

 by children because they amuse themselves by watching 

 the tails twist about like the hands of a clock. White-stem 

 Filaree, E. moschatum, common in rich soil, has larger, 

 coarser leaves and a faint scent. 



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