Summary ²

Geranium maculatum, the (wild geranium, spotted geranium, or wood geranium, is a perennial plant native to woodland in eastern North America, from southern Manitoba and southwestern Quebec south to Alabama and Georgia and west to Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Description ³

Family:
Geraniaceae (Geranium)

Height:
1 to 2 feet

Leaves:
Mostly basal leaves with 5-7 elongated lobes and coarse teeth - only 2-3 upper leaves. The leaves resemble those of Thimbleweed and Canada Anemone.

Flower:
Showy, pink or lavender, 5-petaled flower in clusters of 2-10

Bloom time:
May-June

Nicknames:
Wild Cranesbill, Spotted Cranesbill, Shame Face, Rockweed

Habitat:
Dry to moist wooded areas, thickets

Wildlife Benefits:
Deer eat the flowers of wild geranium and birds eat the maturing fruit.

Can I plant this in my garden?
Wild geranium is commonly used in woodland gardens. It prefers shade to part shade and well-drained soils.

References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/bottle-gentian

Range ³

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
2. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geranium_maculatum
3. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalistAU taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

iNaturalistAU Map