Shining cranesbill
Geranium lucidum
Family · Geraniaceae · Harmless
The cranesbill with round, fleshy leaves so glossy they reflect light as if waxed, turning bright red at the end of the season. It grows on walls and in cool shade.
Walls and rocks · Oak woods · Uplands · Streams and ditches
Also known asshiny geranium
How to tell it
Nearly circular leaves, divided into five shallow rounded lobes, smooth, hairless and visibly glossy, which no other Iberian cranesbill has. A red smooth stem. Small bright pink flowers, the calyx tube marked by five transverse wrinkled ridges.
What it is confused with
Herb Robert
Geranium robertianum
They grow on the same wall and both turn red. Herb Robert has leaves divided into five segments cut again, is hairy and smells bad; shining cranesbill has round, smooth, glossy leaves and no scent.
What it is for
No use
It is the easiest cranesbill of all to identify, because the leaf shine is unique and visible from metres away. It is a declared invader in the northwestern United States, where it forms dense woodland mats.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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