Family |
Geraniaceae
Geranium lucidum
L.
Geranium lucidum L.
(First published in Sp. Pl.: 682 (1753); Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CLXXXIII nº 3; 1970)
• Life-form & habit : Annual herb, glabrous, sometimes with rare papillose hairs on the lower surface of the leaves; stems erect or several from the base, branched from the collar, 10–30 cm tall.
• Leaves : Leaves rounded in outline, slightly fleshy, palmately divided into 5–7 cuneate, obtuse lobes, more or less incised and crenate.
• Inflorescence & flowers : Sepals lanceolate-acuminate, glabrous, marked with transverse wrinkles; petals pale pink, slightly longer than the sepals, with an obovate blade shorter than the claw.
• Fruit : Fruit 10–13 mm long, glabrous; valves puberulent toward the apex; seeds smooth.
• Phenology : Flowers from February to May.
• Habitat & elevation : Rocks and shaded places, from the coastal belt to the middle mountain belt, also recorded on Hermon.
• Lebanese distribution : Recorded by Mouterde from Beyrouth, Tripoli, Bikfaya, Tartij, Beit Khachbo, Dlepta, Mohrab, Rayfoun, Hasroun, Hadchit, Qannoubine, the Col de Jezzine to Machghara, Mdeireje, Qamou‘a and Hasbaya.
• Native range : Albania, Algeria, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East Aegean Is., Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Nepal, North Caucasus, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, West Himalaya.
• Introduced range : British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington.
• Diagnostic remarks : Readily recognized by its almost completely glabrous, glossy, slightly fleshy leaves, rounded palmately lobed blades, glabrous transversely wrinkled sepals, pale pink petals, short glabrous fruit and smooth seeds. It differs from Geranium robertianum and G. purpureum by its glabrous, shiny, rounded leaves and wrinkled sepals, whereas those species are more pubescent or glandular, with more divided leaves and usually longer, more conspicuous petals.