Erodium cicutarium (L.) L'Her. Pinweed

Erodium cicutarium (L.) L'Her. - Pinweed

Scientific Description:

Caulescent annual (though stems sometimes very short in early spring), up to 40 cm. Basal leaves pinnate, leaflets ovate-oblong, 4−10 mm, deeply pinnatifid into entire or few-toothed segments. Cauline leaves with leaflets deeply 1−2-pinnatifid. Stipules usually ovate. Sepals 4−5 mm, up to 7 mm in fruit; awn 0.2−0.5 mm, usually bearing 1 or more long terminal bristles. Petals ovate, not overlapping, mauve or pink, 3/2−2 × sepals. Beak of fruit 2.5−3.5 cm. Mericarps c. 5 mm, foveoles eglandular, often with a narrow, shallow furrow beneath.

 

subsp. cicutarium

Mericarps with a furrow below the foveoles; basal and stem leaves usually dissimilar, leaflets with acute laciniae.

 

Flowering time: March−May.

Habitat: Cultivated or disturbed ground, sandy places and dry grassland.

 

Reference:

Davis PH (1967). Erodium cicutarium (L.) L’Herit., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2: 485.

Public Description:

Erodium cicutarium subsp. cicutarium, known as “pinweed”, is native to the Mediterranean Basin. However it was introduced to North America where it has evolved into an invasive species. It is an annual herb with mauve or pink flowers and hairy, sticky stems which is up to 40 cm in lenght. It blooms between March and May, and is found in cultivated or disturbed ground, sandy places and dry grassland.

The entire plant is edible with a flavor similar to sharp parsley if picked young.

 

References:

Anonymous 1 (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erodium_cicutarium /, Accessed date: 13.02.2016.

Anonymous 2 (2016). http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Erodium+cicutarium, Accessed date: 13.02.2016.

Ekim T (2012). Erodium L’Her In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 515–517.

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