Family |
Geraniaceae
Geranium columbinum
L.
Geranium columbinum L.
(First published in Sp. Pl.: 682 (1753); Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CLXXXII nº 5; 1970)
• Life-form & habit : Annual herb, appressed-hispid; stems ascending or diffuse, with spreading branches, 10–40 cm tall.
• Leaves : Leaves orbicular in outline, palmatisect to five main segments, each deeply divided into linear lobules; upper leaves trifid.
• Inflorescence & flowers : Peduncles long; pedicels long, spreading or deflexed after anthesis; sepals large, 1 cm or more including the awn, sparsely hairy, slightly concave, somewhat keeled along the dorsal nerve, ending in a fine awn 2–3 mm long; petals purple, obcordate, ciliate along the margins, not exceeding the sepal awn.
• Fruit : Fruit about 2.5 cm long; valves keeled and almost glabrous.
• Phenology : Flowers from February to May.
• Habitat & elevation : Open or degraded woodland, from the coastal belt to the lower mountain belt.
• Lebanese distribution : Recorded by Mouterde from Dékouané, Nahr Beyrouth, Ras Chekka, above Antélias, below Beit Méri, Beit Méri, Mar Roukhos and Rayfoun.
• Native range : Albania, Algeria, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, North Caucasus, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine.
• Introduced range : Arkansas, California, Chile Central, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
• Diagnostic remarks : Distinguished in Mouterde’s key from Geranium dissectum by its weaker appressed pubescence, more spreading habit, long peduncles and pedicels, purple flowers, and long-aristate calyx teeth exceeding the corolla. G. dissectum is more hispid, with erect branches, smaller violet flowers, a hirsute calyx, shorter peduncles, and velvety fruit valves.