''Geranium nodosum'', the knotted crane's-bill, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plant in the family Geraniaceae.

Description

''Geranium nodosum'' is a rhizomatous

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

, a plant that propagates by means of a rhizome, a reproductive structure in the form of a horizontal stem which produces the stem and the roots below the soil surface. During the winter the plant has no aboveground herbage, having become reduced to the rhizome. The plant generally reaches in height, with a maximum of .Pignatti, S. ''Flora d'Italia – Edagricole.'' Vol. II. 1982. pg. 7. The stem is upright, slender, branched, and hairy. The leaves are palmate in shape with 3 to 5 lobes, and are borne on petioles. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and hairless, and the lower is light green with a short coating of hairs. Each flower is borne on a long stalk. The five obovate petals are lilac to violet. Flowering occurs from June through August. The flowers are entomophilous, pollinated by insects. The fruit is a fuzzy capsule containing about five

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

Distribution

This plant is native to southern Europe. It is present in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, Jura, and the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

Habitat

The typical habitat of this species is the margins of deciduous forest among oak, beech, and chestnut. It grows on calcareous and siliceous substrates with neutral pH and average soil moisture. It occurs at

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

s of above sea level.

Gallery

File:Geranium nodosum.jpg File:Geranium nodosum ENBLA01.jpeg File:Geranium nodosum ENBLA03.jpeg File:Geraniaceae - Geranium nodosum-2.JPG

References

External links

Taxon Profile: Knotted Crane's-bill (''Geranium nodosum'' L.)
Biolib.cz
''Geranium nodosum''.
''Schede di botanica''. nodosum Flora of the Pyrenees Garden plants of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Geraniaceae-stub