Erodium

Not to be confused with bromperidol.

Erodium
Erodium malacoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Geraniales
Family: Geraniaceae
Genus: Erodium
Aiton
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Erodion St.-Lag.
  • Myrrhina Rupr.
  • Ramphocarpus Neck.

Erodium is a genus of flowering plants in the botanical family Geraniaceae. The genus includes about 120 species with a subcosmopolitan distribution, native to Europe, North Africa, Asia, Australia, and more locally in North and South America.[1] They are perennials, annuals, or subshrubs, with five-petalled flowers in shades of white, pink, and purple, that strongly resemble the better-known Geranium (crane's-bills).[2] In English-speaking areas of Europe, the species are known as stork's-bills.[3] In North America they are known as filarees or heron's bill.[citation needed]

Taxonomy[edit]

Carl Linnaeus grouped in the same genus (Geranium), the three similar genera Erodium, Geranium, and Pelargonium. The distinction between them was made by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle based on the number of stamens or anthers; five in Erodium,[4] seven for Pelargonium, and ten for Geranium.[4] However, the three genera have the same characteristics in regard to their fruit, which resemble long bird beaks. That characteristic is the basis for the names: Geranium evokes the crane (Greek geranos), Pelargonium the stork (pelargos), and Erodium the heron (erodios). Erodium species also differ in having pinnate leaves, whereas Geranium species have palmately lobed or divided leaves.[5]

Cultivation[edit]

In cultivation, Erodium species are usually seen in rockeries or alpine gardens.[2]

The hybrid cultivar E. × variabile 'Roseum' (E. corsicum × E. reichardii), a compact, spreading perennial with rose-pink flowers in summer, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6]

Ecology[edit]

Erodium species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the pasture day moth.

Species[edit]

Fruit of Erodium ciconium
Erodium lebelii
Erodium glandulosum - MHNT

As of June 2024, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepts 121 species:[1]

Hybrids include:

Uses[edit]

Species such as E. cicutarium and E. moschatum are edible.[7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b POWO. "Erodium L'Hér". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
  3. ^ P.A. Stroh; T. A. Humphrey; R.J. Burkmar; O.L. Pescott; D.B. Roy; K.J. Walker, eds. (2020). "Common Stork's-bill Erodium cicutarium agg". BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b Parnell, J. and Curtis. Webb's An Irish Flora. Cork University Press. ISBN 978-185918-4783
  5. ^ Streeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. Collins Flower Guide. Harper Collins ISBN 9-78-000718389-0
  6. ^ "Erodium × variabile 'Roseum'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  7. ^ Nyerges, Christopher (2016). Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-4930-1499-6.

Further reading[edit]

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