Geranium caespitosum

Kearney and Peebles 1969, McDougall 1973, Martin and Hutchins 1980

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Subshrub General: Herbaceous or small shrubs with forked stems and swollen nodes, stems erect or decumbent, profusely branching, 20-70 cm long. Leaves: Palmately lobed, opposite or basal with stipules, primary divisions incised or lobed, the lobes acute or obtuse. Flowers: Perfect, light pink to purple, regular, in cymose or umbel-like clusters, sepals persistent, stamens 10, all fertile, 5 of them longer than the others, style persistent, the stigma branches 5-8 mm long, forming the tip of the beak when mature. Fruits: Style persistent, becoming recoiled when fruiting. Ecology: Commonly found in pine forests from 5,000-9,000 ft (1524-2743 m); flowering May-September. Notes: Another good key to this species are the pedicels that are normally without glandular hairs. The lobes of the leaves are often rounded at the tips. Ethnobotany: The plant was used as an astringent, and the roots were used for diarrhea, and ground into a paste for sores. The plants were considered a good turkey food. Synonyms: None Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011 Etymology: Geranium comes from from the Greek geranos, "crane," from the beak-like fruit, while caespitosum means caespitose, having a densely-clumped, tufted or cushion-like growth form, with the flowers held above the clump or tuft.