E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Geranium viscosissimum Fisch. & C.A. Mey. ex C.A. Mey.
Sticky Geranium (sticky purple crane's-bill; sticky purple geranium)
Geraniaceae (Geranium family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Dave Ingram  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #4422)

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Distribution of Geranium viscosissimum
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Geranium viscosissimum var. viscosissimum

Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb from a thick stem-base; stems ascending to erect, branched, spreading short-hairy below, long hairy and often glandular-hairy above, 25-90 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves palmately divided 3/4 their length into 5 to 7, sharply toothed segments, stiff-hairy and more or less glandular; stem leaves similar, opposite, more or less rounded in outline, 4-12 cm wide.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of several to many flowers in an open terminal cluster; petals pinkish-purple to lavender (rarely white), soft-hairy on the lower 1/4 (or sometimes more) of the inner surface, rounded or slightly notched at the tips, 14-20 mm long; sepals 8-12 mm long, bristle-tipped, the tip 1-3 mm long; stamens 10, fertile, not fused.
Fruits:
Capsules, elongated, glandular-hairy; styles 2.5-5 cm long, the beaks 10-14 mm long; seeds oblong, pitted.
Notes:
A few of our plants (in SE BC), without glandular lower stems and stalks, may belong to the more southern var. nervosum (Rydb.) C.L. Hitchc.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry grassland, meadows and open forests in the steppe and montane zones; frequent in S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, rare northward and on Vancouver Island; E to SK and S to SD, CO, UT and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Geranium viscosissimum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 330 1288 2280
Slope Gradient (%) 0 25 98
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
0 189 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
1 3 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
259
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: AT(1), BG(12), ESSF(69), ICH(4), IDF(115), MS(35), PP(4), SBS(7), SWB(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References