Geranium sylvaticum - Wood Cranesbill

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Geraniales - Family: Geraniaceae

Wood Cranesbill is absent from southern England and Ireland but is relatively common and widespread in the north. It is also common throughout Europe

The common name of cranesbill refers to the sharp, beak-like shape of the seeds which appear once the flowers have died back. The flowers, which grow in tufts, are variable in colour from pink through to violet-blue, with the latter colour occurring mainly in Central Europe.Flowering time is from June to August.

This plant likes base-rich soils and can be found in meadows, on the edge of woodland and in quite rocky and stony habitats.

The specimens shown on this page were photographed in Slovenia and in Italy in July.