Geranium bicknellii

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Geranium bicknellii
Geranium bicknellii.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Geraniales
Family: Geraniaceae
Genus: Geranium
Species:
G. bicknellii
Binomial name
Geranium bicknellii

Geranium bicknellii is a species of geranium known by the common names Bicknell's cranesbill and northern cranesbill. It is native to much of the northern half of North America, where it can be found in a number of forest and woodland habitats. This is an annual or biennial herb which grows hairy stems up to about half a meter long. It may be erect or lie near the ground. Each leaf is several centimeters long and wide and is divided into several lobes, each of which may have smaller lobes or teeth. Flowers grow singly or in pairs and have pointed sepals and small lavender petals, each with a notch in the tip. The fruit has a rounded body with a long, straight style about 2 centimeters in length and tipped with a small beak.

Geranium bicknellii is a fire-adapted species, occurring most abundantly in recently burned forests. The seeds remain dormant while buried in the forest floor, sometimes for centuries, until a fire removes the organic litter and exposes the seeds to sunlight. The geraniums will germinate, bloom, and set seed profusely for several years after the fire, until other plants grow large enough to shade them out. The new seeds will then lie dormant in the soil, waiting for the next fire. [1]

The leaves of this species and some related species are somewhat difficult to distinguish from those of some plants in the family Ranunculaceae , particularly members of the genera Aconitum and Delphinium . They have also been confused with members of the genus Ranunculus , which is also part of that family, such as the meadow buttercup, Ranunculus acris . As the species from this family with a similar leaf shape are toxic to ingest or sometimes even touch, especially in the case of Aconitum species, it is possible that this is an example of mimicry designed to reduce herbivory. However, it may simply be accidental, due to adaption to conditions. As the family Ranunculaceae is especially ancient, other families have had quite a lot of time to mimic their characteristics via selection by herbivory. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Aconitum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Aconitum, also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. These herbaceous perennial plants are chiefly native to the mountainous parts of the Northern Hemisphere in North America, Europe, and Asia; growing in the moisture-retentive but well-draining soils of mountain meadows. Most species are extremely poisonous and must be dealt with very carefully. Several Aconitum hybrids, such as the Arendsii form of Aconitum carmichaelii, have won gardening awards — such as the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. Some are used by florists.

<i>Ficaria verna</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)

Ficaria verna, commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae native to Europe and west Asia. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals. It is now introduced in North America, where it is known by the common name fig buttercup and considered an invasive species. The plant is poisonous if ingested raw and potentially fatal to grazing animals and livestock such as horses, cattle, and sheep. For these reasons, several US states have banned the plant or listed it as a noxious weed. It prefers bare, damp ground and is considered by horticulturalists in the United Kingdom as a persistent garden weed; nevertheless, many specialist plantsmen, nursery owners and discerning gardeners in the UK and Europe collect selected cultivars of the plant, including bronze-leaved and double-flowered ones. Emerging in late winter with flowers appearing March through May in the UK, its appearance across the landscape is regarded by many as a harbinger of spring.

Ranunculaceae Family of eudicot flowering plants

Ranunculaceae is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide.

<i>Ranunculus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.

<i>Caltha</i> Genus of flowering plants

Caltha is a genus of rhizomatous perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, to which ten species have been assigned. They occur in moist environments in temperate and cold regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Their leaves are generally heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, or are characteristically diplophyllous. Flowers are star shaped and mostly yellow to white. True petals and nectaries are missing but the five or more sepals are distinctly colored. As usual in the buttercup family there is a circle of stamens around free carpels.

<i>Aconitum noveboracense</i> Species of flowering plant

Aconitum noveboracense, also known as northern blue monkshood or northern wild monkshood, is a flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Members of its genus (Aconitum) are also known as wolfsbane.

<i>Ranunculus glaberrimus</i>

Ranunculus glaberrimus, the sagebrush buttercup, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to interior western North America, in western Canada, the western United States, and the northwestern Great Plains.

<i>Ranunculus sceleratus</i>

Ranunculus sceleratus known by the common names celery-leaved buttercup, celery-leaf buttercup, and cursed buttercup is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere, native to temperate and boreal North America and Eurasia, where it grows in wet and moist habitats, including ponds and streambanks.

<i>Geranium carolinianum</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium carolinianum is a species of geranium known by the common name Carolina crane's-bill, or Carolina geranium. This species is native to North America, where it is widespread and grows in many types of habitat. There are two varieties; Geranium carolinianum var. carolinianum and the Geranium carolinianum var. sphaerospermum. This is a summer or winter annual herb. It can be considered invasive depending on the region, when it is found in the United States it is considered to be native.

<i>Geranium oreganum</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium oreganum is a species of geranium known by the common name Oregon cranesbill, or Oregon geranium. It is native to western North America from California to Alberta, where it grows in mountain forests and meadows. This is a perennial herb growing generally erect to heights of 40 to 80 centimeters. The slender stems have a foliage of large palmate leaves up to 15 centimeters wide and divided into several segments, each of which is subdivided into rounded or pointed lobes. The flower has pointed sepals beneath rounded lavender to purple petals. The fruit has a small body with a pointed style column up to five centimeters long.

<i>Kumlienia hystricula</i> Species of flowering plant

Kumlienia hystricula is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name waterfall false buttercup.

<i>Ranunculus aconitifolius</i>

Ranunculus aconitifolius, the aconite-leaf buttercup or bachelor's buttons, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to central Europe. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) high by 40 cm (16 in) broad,it is an herbaceous perennial with slightly hairy palmate leaves up to 20 cm (8 in) long, and loose panicles of white, saucer-shaped flowers in spring.

<i>Ranunculus flabellaris</i>

Ranunculus flabellaris is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup genus, Ranunculus, known by the common name yellow water buttercup. It is native to much of North America, including the southern half of Canada and most of the United States.

Ranunculus recurvatus, the blisterwort or hooked crowfoot, is a plant species of the genus Ranunculus in the family Ranunculaceae native to eastern North America. It is an early-flowering plant of moist deciduous woods from central Quebec south to Florida.

<i>Ranunculus pedatifidus</i>

Ranunculus pedatifidus is a species of buttercup known by the common names surefoot buttercup, northern buttercup, and birdfoot buttercup. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two varieties, var. pedatifidus occurring mostly in Asia and var. affinis mostly native to North America.

Ranunculus allenii, commonly known as Allen's buttercup, is a flowering plant in the crowfoot or buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Generally found in wetlands in northern latitudes, it bears yellow flowers in summer, which are pollinated by insects.

<i>Ranunculus abortivus</i>

Ranunculus abortivus is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Its common names include littleleaf buttercup, small-flower crowfoot, small-flowered buttercup, and kidneyleaf buttercup. It is widespread across much of North America, found in all ten Canadian provinces as well as Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and most of the United States, except Hawaii, Oregon, California, and parts of the Southwest.

<i>Trollius laxus</i>

Trollius laxus is a rare flowering plant species in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to North America and is considered to have two subspecies, one with a distribution is the east and one in the west. Common names for Trollius laxus include American globeflower and American spreading globeflower. The American Globeflower, Trollius laxus is an endangered species of flowering plants Native to Northeastern United States. This species of plants is limited in range by their ability to exclusively survive in wetlands and marshes. Thus, clusters of the species are constantly threatened by the ever-changing hydrology of the range they are confined to.

Delphinium viridescens is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name Wenatchee larkspur. It is endemic to central Washington state in the United States, where it occurs in the Wenatchee Mountains in Chelan and Kittitas Counties.

<i>Ranunculus platanifolius</i>

Ranunculus platanifolius, the large white buttercup, is a species of perennial herb of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) growing in mountains of Europe.

References

  1. Reeves, Sonja L. (2007). "Geranium bicknellii". Fire Effects Information System. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  2. Ge, Sun (2011). "Fossil is best look yet at an ancestor of buttercups". A eudicot from the Early Cretaceous of China. Indiana University. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  3. Udurawane, Vasika (2011). "A Tale of Flowers and Seeds". The Evolution of Plants. Earth Archives. Retrieved September 5, 2015.