Geranium caespitosum

Geranium caespitosum

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Geraniales
Family: Geraniaceae
Genus: Geranium
Species:
G. caespitosum
Binomial name
Geranium caespitosum
E.James, 1823
Synonyms
List
    • Geranium atropurpureum A.Heller (1898)
    • Geranium cowenii Rydb. (1907)
    • Geranium eremophilum Wooton & Standl. (1913)
    • Geranium fremontii Torr. ex A.Gray (1849)
    • Geranium furcatum Hanks (1907)
    • Geranium gracile Engelm. (1849)
    • Geranium intermedium E.James (1823)
    • Geranium marginale Rydb. (1907)
    • Geranium parryi A.Heller (1900)
    • Geranium pattersonii Rydb. (1902)
    • Geranium pentagynum Engelm. (1848)
    • Geranium toquimense N.H.Holmgren & A.H.Holmgren (1974)

Geranium caespitosum, the purple cluster geranium or pineywoods geranium, is a perennial herb native to the western United States and northern Mexico. Its US distribution includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

It has a purple to red flower with 5 stamens, and the sepals are acuminate, tapering with a long point. It has palmately lobed leaves. The fruit is a schizocarp made up of 5 mericarps. Flowers bloom May to September. Geranium caespitosum has fleshy roots that penetrate deeply into the soil. It grows in damp soils, as in the understory of coniferous forests and in canyons.