Friday Focus on Fruit: Florida Native Plant CAROLINA CRANESBILL (Geranium carolinianum)
WHAT FLORIDA NATIVE PLANT IS BLOOMING TODAY?:
Friday Focus on Fruit: Florida Native Plant CAROLINA CRANESBILL (Geranium carolinianum)
Photo depicts the seeds (fruit) of this Florida native. As you can see, it gets the common name from the look of the seed pods . A spring groundcover.
Annual. Flowers can appear pink or white depending on age. Photos of flowers: https://whatfloridanativeplantisbloomingtoday.wordpress.com/2019/03/23/carolina-cranesbill-geranium-carolinianum-4/
Learn: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=geca5
Feeds deer, small mammals and birds, especially mourning doves and northern bobwhite.
Learn: https://web.archive.org/web/20071027231255/http://wildflowers.jdcc.edu/Carolina_Geranium.html
seeds are reported to have astringent, febrifuge, diuretic and nephritic properties (source: https://web.archive.org/web/20090803122522/http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fw017)
Said to be edible but bitter: http://www.eattheweeds.com/erodium-circutarium-geranium-carolinianum-two-bills-you-want-to-get-2/
Interesting time lapse information on pollination of this plant: http://naturedocumentaries.org/3046/geranium-pollination/
Native American Ethnobotany for this genus: http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Geranium
Where does it grow in Florida? http://www.florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=3848
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What Florida Native Plant Is Blooming Today?™ 