Putnam Park Wildflowers


Flower ID: IMG_0380.JPG-05-18-2017
Flower name (scientific): Geranium maculatum Linnaeus PY: 1753. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) jer-AY-nee-um mak-yuh-LAH-tum (mak-yoo-LAY-tum or mac-you-LAY-tum)
Flower name (common): Wild Geranium
Family name (common): Geranium
Family name (scientific): Geraniaceae
Scientific name origin:
     Genus: From the Greek géranos, for crane, referencing the shape of the fruit resembling a crane's head.
    Specific epithet: Latin for spotted.
Common name origin: From the Latin geranium, taken from the Greek for crane, because the fruit has a similar shape to the bill of a crane.
Flower description:
     Size: 1.0 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm)
     Petal count: 5
     Color: pink
     Other: flower arrangement, Cluster-umbel
Plant description: Erect
     Size: 12 to 28 inches (30 to 71 cm)
     Stem hairy: moderately to densely hairy
     Other:
Leaf description: attachment is basal and opposite, type is simple and lobed
     Size: Basal and lower leaves up to 15 cm long and about the same width.
     Color: medium green
     Hairy: surfaces moderately hairy
     Other: Shape: leaf, palmately 5-lobed (MBG), palmatisect
Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native
Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Common
Bloom time (typical): April to June
Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Perennial
Habitat: Forests, mesic woods, meadows, shade or part shade or sun, moderate moisture.
Fruit: Erect schizocarps with a long stylar column about 40 mm long at maturity.
Seed: Brown colored, oval in outline, about 2.5 to 3 mm in length.
Importance to wildlife:
Similar species (if any): When in bloom, no close lookalikes.
Ethnobotany: The Menominee employed this plant as an antidiarrheal (Smith, pp. 36-37, 1923). The Meskwaki have multiple uses for the roots, as a remedy for sore gums, tooth ache, pyorrhoea and neuralgia, and in particular for piles and hemorrhoids (Smith, pp. 222-223, 1928). The Ojibwe used the root as a remedy for diarrhea and also to treat a sore mouth (Smith, p. 370, 1932).
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Longitude:
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Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Adams, Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Langlade, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Rusk, Sauk, Sawyer, Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washburn, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, Wood) Click here for distribution map
In US: (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV) Click here for distribution map
In Canada: (MB, ON, QC) Click here for distribution map
References:
Synonym(s):
Basionym: na
Homotypic Synonym(s): na
Heterotypic Synonym(s): POWO lists 7 heterotypic synonyms for this species.
Autonym: na
Wetland Status (NC): FACU
Wetland Status (MW): FACU