View source for Phil Bendle Collection:Erodium cicutarium (Storkbill)

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'''Kingdom:''' Plantae<br />
'''Division:''' Magnoliophyta<br />
'''Class:''' Magnoliopsida<br />
'''Order:''' Geraniales<br />
'''Family:''' Geraniaceae<br />
'''Genus:''' Erodium<br />
'''Species:''' E. cicutarium<br />
'''Binomial name:''' Erodium cicutarium<br />
'''Common name:''' Storkbill, Redstem filaree, Common Stork's-bill

Erodium cicutarium is an invasive hairy, sticky herbaceous annual, and in warm areas a biennial member of the Geranium Family of flowering plants. It is native to the Mediterranean.  <br />
The plant is widespread across New Zealand in bare, sandy, grassy places the drier coastal lowlands.<br />
The stems bear bright pink flowers (12-14mm), arranged in a loose cluster, and often have dark spots on the bases. The leaves are pinnate and fern-like, and the long seed-pod, shaped very much like the bill of a stork, bursts open in a spiral when ripe, sending the seeds (which have little feathery parachutes attached) into the air. The hairy stems can be prostrate or erect.<br />
Seed launch is accomplished using a spring mechanism powered by shape changes as the fruits dry. The spiral shape of the awn can unwind during daily changes in humidity, leading to self-burial of the seeds once they are on the ground. The two tasks (springy launch and self-burial) are accomplished with the same tissue (the awn), which is hygroscopically active and warps upon wetting and also gives rise to the draggy hairs on the awn.

[http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info/image_files/0000/0011/5328/1-Illustration_Erodium_cicutarium0.jpg]<br />


[http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info/image_files/0000/0010/7443/Erodium_cicutarium__Storkbill_-002.JPG]

[http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info/image_files/0000/0010/7433/Erodium_cicutarium__Storkbill_.JPG]

The underside of a leaf,<br />




The long beak-like capsules (4mm)<br />
[http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info/image_files/0000/0001/9944/Storkbill__Erodium_cicutarium_-9.JPG]

A young plant growing in very dry conditions.<br />
[http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info/image_files/0000/0011/5333/1-Erodium_cicutarium_Storkbill.JPG]

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/








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[[Category:Weeds]]
[[Category:Phil Bendle Collection]]