Living in the Dunes
In partnership with
NORTH CHAPTER
Family: Geraniaceae (Geranium family)
Duration: Perennial
Height: 30-75 cm (1-2.5 ft)
Blooming: Apr.-July
Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum L.
Flowers: 1 to 5 pink to lavender 5-petaled flowers to 3 cm (1.25 in) across. These flowers form in spring atop each stem.
Leaves: at the base of the plant, the leaves are opposite and deeply-veined. They are up to 13 cm (5 in) long with 5-7 lobes radiating from a single point. The loves are narrow at the base. Leave along the stem are oppositely arranged and smaller than those at the base. They have 3-5 deep primary lobes.
Fruits: narrow fruit to 3.8 cm (1.5 in) long that becomes dark brown and unfurls from the base to the tip.
Sun: Full sun or shade
Ideal Conditions: Thrives in moist to dry soils in shade or partial shade
INPAWS Native Communities: Woodland (shade)
SOURCES & FURTHER RESOURCES:
Comments: Wild geranium has a much larger flower than the other geranium's locally present with the latter all being well under an inch.
Etymology: Wild geranium is also called spotted geranium. The epithet, maculata, comes from the Latin word for "stained, defiles, or spotted".
photo by Nathanael Pilla
photo by Nathanael Pilla
photo by Nathanael Pilla
photo by Scott Namestnik
Species Present and Native
