Common Storksbill

Erodium cicutarium

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Geraniales

Family:

Geraniaceae (Cranesbill)

Also in this family:

Bloody Cranesbill, Cut-leaved Cranesbill, Dovesfoot Cranesbill, French Cranesbill, Hedgerow Cranesbill, Herb Robert, Meadow Cranesbill, Shining Cranesbill, Sticky Storksbill, Wood Cranesbill

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Annual

Maximum Size:

60 centimetres tall

Habitats:

Beaches, farmland, gardens, grassland, meadows, mountains, roadsides, sand dunes, seaside, wasteland.

Flower:

Pink, 5 petals

Small clusters of pinkish-purple flowers, sometimes white. 5 petals, the upper two each often having a black spot at their bases.

Fruit:

Beak-shaped fruit, up to 4cm long. This plant is named after the shape of its fruit.

Leaves:

2-pinnate leaves with linear stipules at the leaf bases. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along the stems. The leaflets are finely lobed and toothed.

Aroma:

Not pungent.

Other Names:

Alfilaree, Alfilaria, California Filaree, Coastal Heron's Bill, Cutleaf Filaree, Filaree, Hemlock Storksbill, Heron-bill, Pin Clover, Pingrass, Pinweed, Redstem Filaree, Redstem Storksbill, Redstemmed Filaree, Stork's-bill.

Frequency (UK):

Occasionally seen

Similar Species:

Sticky Storksbill

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map