We hike into the middle grasslands and open forests of our area in mid-spring when many herbaceous plants are emerging. Patches of sticky geraniums with their distinct purple flowers provide wonderful photographic opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.
- Geranium viscosissimum is a perennial than grows from 40 to 90 cm tall.
- Stems are thick at the base and leaves are hairy (and sometimes glandular, that is with enlarged glands at the tips of the leaves).
- The leaves emerge from the long stalks in the spring with a distinct broad palmate (compound leaves that has leaflets that radiate out from a single point) leaves that divide into 5 to 7 sections.
- The flowers are pink to purple with 5 petals and 5 brittle sepals.
- The flowers are hairy on the lower half and deeply veined with purple streaks on the petals.
- The images photographed below were taken in May or June in the hills within an hour’s drive of Kamloops. Click the image for a larger view and a caption (including a location and date)
- Oblong seeds form in long capsules after flowering.
- The long beak resembles a stork’s or crane’s bill and so some geraniums are referred to as stork’s-billl.
- After flowering the 10 – 15 mm beaks are green and hairy, turning to brown as they wither (link to photo)
- Sticky geraniums are usually spotted in open (douglas fir) forests and in protected areas of the grasslands.
- First Nations and herbalists have used the plant (roots and leaves) to stop bleeding or to relieve pain.
- We have spotted white geranium in remote locations but will feature these in a separate post.
- Sources – Eflora BC, Plants of the Southern Interior Britiish Columbia (Parish, Coupe, Lloyd), and various internet resources. Images – D. Smith.
See you in the hills this spring…