General: Annual herb from a taproot; stems decumbent to ascending, stiff-hairy, 10-40 cm tall.
Leaves: Basal leaves few, kidney-shaped in outline, long-stalked, 1.5-5 cm long; divided into 5-7 broad, coarsely toothed lobes, stem leaves few, similar, opposite, short-stalked.
Flowers: Inflorescence of terminal clusters of usually 2 short-stalked flowers; petals pink, shallowly notched, 3-5 mm long, soft-hairy; sepals slightly shorter than the petals, the tips abruptly pointed; stamens fertile, 10, fused basally.
Fruits: Carpels, glabrous, finely cross-wrinkled; styles 6-8 mm long, the beak 1-2 mm long; seeds orbicular, glabrous.
Dove's foot cranes-bill ... usually has magenta to pink flowers. But populations polymorphic for magenta and white-flowered plants occur--for example, at Redwood Park in Delta. The white-flowered plants probably represent recessive homozygotes at a single gene that have become established by chance in this population.
Source: Griffiths and Ganders. 1983. Wildflower Genetics: A Field Guide for British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Geranium molle
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)
A shade-intolerant, submontane to montane, Eurasian forb introduced to Pacific and Atlantic North America. Occurs in maritime to submaritime cool mesothermal climates on very dry to moderately dry, nitrogen-medium soils. Occasional in early-seral communities, sporadic in open-canopy forests on very shallow, waterÂshedding sites following disturbance. Its occurrence decreases with increasing elevation and continentality. Characteristic of disturbed sites.
Griffiths, Anthony J. F. and Fred R. Ganders. 1983. Wildflower Genetics: A Field Guide for British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Flight Press, Vancouver.
