Family |
Geraniaceae
Geranium purpureum
Vill.
Geranium purpureum Vill.
(First published in Hist. Pl. Dauphiné 1: 272 (1786); Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CLXXXIII nº 1; 1970, syn. Geranium robertianum var. parviflorum Viv.)
Description
Life-form & habit : Annual herb, very close to Geranium robertianum but generally smaller, with a less glandular indumentum; stems erect to ascending, branched.
Leaves : Leaves similar to those of G. robertianum, with a triangular outline and divided leaflets; radical leaves with relatively short petioles.
Inflorescence & flowers : Pedicels not deflexed or spreading after anthesis; petals purple to purplish, shorter than in G. robertianum, scarcely exceeding the sepals.
Fruit : Fruit not described separately by Mouterde; distinguished from G. robertianum chiefly by flower and pedicel characters rather than by detailed fruit morphology.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology : Flowers from February to May.
Habitat & elevation : Roadsides, hedges and cultivated ground, from the coastal belt to lower and middle mountain localities and Mediterranean continental sites.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution : Recorded by Mouterde from Saïda, Borj Brajné, Beyrouth, the sources of Nahr Beyrouth, Nahr-el-Kelb, Nahr Ibrahim, Tripoli, Bzoummar, Bikfaya, Chemlan, Ghazir, Baabda, ‘Aramoun, Hadchit and Zahlé.
Native range : Albania, Algeria, Azores, Baleares, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corse, Cyprus, DR Congo, East Aegean Is., France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Madeira, Morocco, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Uganda.
Introduced range : Argentina Northeast, Belgium, Brazil South, California, Cape Provinces, Chile Central, Chile South, Czechia-Slovakia, Korea, New Zealand North, South Australia, Uruguay.
Additional notes
Diagnostic remarks : Mouterde treated Geranium purpureum as very close to G. robertianum, separating it by its slightly smaller stature, less glandular covering, much shorter petals that scarcely exceed the sepals, non-deflexed or spreading fruiting pedicels, and radical leaves with relatively short petioles. In Mouterde’s key, G. purpureum is separated from G. robertianum by petals only slightly longer than the sepals, whereas G. robertianum has petals about twice as long as the sepals.