Dovefoot Geranium, Dove's Foot Geranium: Geranium molle

The photo at right shows the basal leaves of dove's foot geranium.

Characteristics:

Dove's foot geranium is an annual herb with wooly-haired stems branching from the base and spreading or ascending from 10-40 cm high. Plants can also be fairly glandular on the stems and peduncles. The leaf blades are kidney-shaped, measure 2-5 cm wide with the margins divided about 2/3 of the way to the base into 5-7 wide lobes. Each lobe is itself divided about half their length into 3-5 segments or lobes.

The slender, woolly peduncles are typically longer than the subtending leaves and bear 2 flowers. The soft-hairy sepals lack bristles at their tips. The 5 rose-purple petals are each bi-lobed at their tips and measure 3-5 mm long, or slightly longer than the sepals. 10 fertile stamens are present, with the inner filaments connected into a tube about 1 mm long at their base. The stylar column is 6-8 mm long with the threadlike beak about 2-3 mm long.

Habitat:

As a weedy species, dove's foot geranium may be found in disturbed locations such as waste areas, fields, lawns, roadsides and gardens.

Range:

A European species, dove's foot geranium has now been widely introduced throughout much of North America and to the west of the Cascade Mts. in Oregon and Washington.

In the Columbia River Gorge it may be found between the elevations of 100'-600' from the Sandy River east to near The Dalles, OR.

The photo above shows a view of the underside of the flower of the dove's foot geranium. Note the softly hairy sepals which are at least one-third shorter than the petals and the spreading hairs on the peduncle. Photographed at Catherine Creek, central Columbia River Gorge........May 14, 2006.

The photo above shows a stem leaf of dove's foot geranium. Note the spreading hairs and small glands on the dorsal surface. Photographed at Catherine Creek, central Columbia River Gorge.........May 14, 2006.