Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Geraniales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Geranium carolinianum
FAMILY
Geraniaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Carolina Cranesbill at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Varieties are sometimes recognized, with two in our area (var. carolinianum and var. confertiflorum) a notable difference being the length of upper internodes (which affects the relative compactness of the inflorescence). Read more in Weakley's Flora (2023).
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Geranium carolinianum var. carolinianum
FAMILY
Geraniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Geranium carolinianum
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Geranium carolinianum var. carolinianum
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Geranium carolinianum var. confertiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 101-01-004:
Geranium carolinianum FAMILY Geraniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Geranium carolinianum
COMMON NAME:
Carolina Cranesbill
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm170320_157
March Laurens County SC
Charlie Lollis Memorial Park
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_carolinianum_01384
March Miami-Dade County FL
Krome Bird Refuge
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_g_carolinianum_2
March
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_g_carolinianum_2b
March
)
JK Marlow jkm0504i_08
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leaves are round to reniform, to 3" wide, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0504i_12
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm100427_007b
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120406_603
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm190425_7761
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210414_9549
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210414_9552
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210414_9553
April Greenville County SC
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmgcarolinianum_and2
April Anderson County SC
Leaves have 3 to 5 long linear-oblong lobes, deeply toothed at the tips, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
COMPARE
leaves of Geranium, Larkspur and Monkshood
)
Roxanna Martin rlm41711_115
April Spartanburg County SC
Flowers less than 0.5" wide, have 5 petals and 10 stamens, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Roxanna Martin rlm41711_140
April Spartanburg County SC
Sepals 5-7mm long excluding the 1-2mm long mucro, densely pubescent, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Roxanna Martin rlm43011_232
April Spartanburg County SC
Capsules (schizocarps) with a narrow beak about 0.7" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow s000426_h
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120526_571
May Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140504_711
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
Roxanna Martin rlm51809_044
May Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140922_925b
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Yes, this was in September...
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Geranium carolinianum
FAMILY
Geraniaceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Geranium carolinianum var. carolinianum
FAMILY
Geraniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Geranium carolinianum
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Geranium carolinianum var. carolinianum
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Geranium carolinianum var. confertiflorum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 101-01-004:
Geranium carolinianum
FAMILY
Geraniaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Geranium carolinianum
607
Forb
Winter annual/Biennial
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, lawns, pastures, gardens, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple - palmately lobed or dissected
Basal & alternate (often opposite when subtending the inflorescence)
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pale pink
5 sepals
5 petals
10 fertile stamens
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p088
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p028
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p280
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p374
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p196
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p041
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p135
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p218
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p170
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p204
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p089
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p332
- Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses (Murphy et al., 1992) p129