North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Geranium carolinianum

Geranium carolinianum L.

carolina crane’s-bill, carolina geranium

Geranium carolinianum (Carolina Crane’s-bill)

Image ID: 20951
Image by: Cressler, Alan M.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: GECA5
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Geranium carolinianum
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-02-25

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: GERAN
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Geranium
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Geranium
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 350-430 species, mainly perennial herbs, also annuals and dwarf shrubs, mainly temperate. House plants called geranium are members of the genus Pelargonium.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Aedo (2012)=Z; Aedo, Aldasoro, & Navarro (1998); Yeo (1984); Albers & Van der Walt in Kubitzki, Bayer, & Stevens (2007).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: GERANI
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Geraniaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Geranium Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 5-11 genera and 700-835 species, herbs and shrubs, mostly temperate.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Albers & Van der Walt in Kubitzki, Bayer, & Stevens (2007).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Ascending to sprawling annual of fields, roadsides, lawns, pastures, gardens and other disturbed areas.
STEMS: Stems reddish, branched, the branches often sprawling, and very hairy.
LEAVES: Leaves alternate, petiolate, round to kidney-shaped, to 2 in. long and wide, palmately divided into 5-7 lobes that are further coarsely cleft, grayish-green and hairy.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers on short, glandular-hairy stalks in clusters (occasionally solitary) at ends of branches; pale pink to white; to 1/3 in. wide; vaguely funnel-shaped and consisting of 5 petals with shallowly notched tips and 5 hairy, narrowly oval sepals.
FRUITS: Fruit a long-beaked capsule that splits into 5 pieces curling upward.
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 4-24 in.

DURATION: Annual, Biennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Radial (Actinomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: Mar-Jun (sometimes later).

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
	x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Pink or white

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x		x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Disturbed
NATIVE RANGE: North America & n. Mexico

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
4143	1992-0299			View
5028	1995-0147			View
5328	1995-0450			View
5659	1995-0783			View
6117	1995-1248			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
6471	4143	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7447	5028	202	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
7786	5328	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8173	5659	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8772	6117	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: GECA5
USDA Common Name: Carolina Geranium
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY), CAN (AB, BC, MB, ON, QC, SK)
Duration: Annual, Biennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Geranium carolinianum
COMMON NAME: Carolina Crane's-bill
SYNONYMY: [= Mo, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, WH3, WV, Z; > G. carolinianum var. carolinianum - C, F, G; > G. carolinianum var. confertiflorum Fernald - C, F, G; > G. carolinianum var. carolinianum - K1, K2]
PHENOLOGY: Mar-Jun (and sometimes later).
HABITAT: Fields, roadsides, lawns, pastures, gardens, disturbed areas.
COMMENTS: MA, MI, WY, and BC south to FL, CA, and n. Mexico (and introduced in various places in the Old and New World). Varieties are sometimes recognized, with two in our area: var. carolinianum, with the inflorescence diffusely corymbiform (because of long upper internodes), mostly 4-12-flowered, and pubescence of the stem mostly < 0.5 mm long, and var. confertiflorum, with the inflorescence a compact corymb (because of notably short upper internodes), mostly 5-25-flowered, and pubescence of the stem mostly >0.75 mm long.
RANGE MAP: Geranium carolinianum.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Geraniaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Geranium Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 5-11 genera and 700-835 species, herbs and shrubs, mostly temperate.
REFERENCE: Albers & Van der Walt in Kubitzki, Bayer, & Stevens (2007).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Geranium L. (Geranium)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 350-430 species, mainly perennial herbs, also annuals and dwarf shrubs, mainly temperate. House plants called geranium are members of the genus Pelargonium.
REFERENCE: Aedo (2012)=Z; Aedo, Aldasoro, & Navarro (1998); Yeo (1984); Albers & Van der Walt in Kubitzki, Bayer, & Stevens (2007).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Geranium carolinianum in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Geranium carolinianum in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Geranium carolinianum in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Geranium carolinianum in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Geranium carolinianum in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Geranium carolinianum

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 20951 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 14669 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 9094 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)