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Erodium cicutarium
| Common name: |
Stork's Bill |
Family: |
Geraniaceae |
| Author: |
(L.)L'Hér. |
Botanical references: |
17 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to N. Africa, the Himalayas and Japan. |
| Habitat: |
Sandy dunes, grassland, arable land, waste areas, roadsides, railway embankments etc, usually near the sea[9]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Geranium cicutarium[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Alfilerillo De Pastor [E], Bakhitry [E], Common Stork's-bill [L], Cutleaf Filaree [FEIS], Donbaba [E], Gewone Reigersbek [D], Red-stem Stork's-bill [B], Red-stemmed Filaree [L], Redstem Stork's Bill [P], Saatotu [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
cicutarium = pertaining to hemlock;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Geraniales. Geranium family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Africa; Europe; Iraq; Mexico; Spain; Turkey; Us; Us(Nm)
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Colorado. |
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 0.6m. . It is in flower from June to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, beetles and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies).
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 3/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires moist soil.
The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Leaves; Stem.
Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb[2, 62, 84, 85, 183].
Harvested in the spring before the plant flowers[257], they are tasty and
nutritious[207]. The leaves are added to salads, sandwiches, soups etc[9],
they can be used in recipes that call for leaves of beet, plantain, sow
thistle or amaranth[183].
Young stems - raw[257].
Root - chewed by children as a gum[257].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Astringent; Galactogogue; Haemostatic; Poultice.
The whole plant is astringent and haemostatic{9, 13, 21]. It has been
used in the treatment of uterine and other bleeding[9]. The root and leaves
have been eaten by nursing mothers to increase the flow of milk[257].
Externally, the plant has been used as a wash on animal bites, skin
infections etc[257]. A poultice of the chewed root has been applied to sores
and rashes[257].
A tea made from the leaves is diaphoretic and diuretic[222]. An infusion has
been used in the treatment of typhoid fever[257]. The leaves are soaked in
bath water for the treatment of rheumatism[222].
The seeds contain vitamin K, a poultice of them is applied to gouty
typhus[222].
Other Uses
Dye; Miscellany; Weather forecasting.
A green dye is obtained from the whole plant. It does not require a
mordant[168].
The remnants of the styles are very hygroscopic, they can be used in
hygrometers and as weather indicators[46, 61].
The dried plant powder has been mixed with watermelon seeds during storage
and planting in order to prevent watermelon disease[257].
Cultivation details
Prefers a sunny well-drained position and a limy soil or at least one
that is not acid[1]. Plants are likely to be resistant to maritime
exposure[K].
Propagation
Seed - sow in situ as soon as the seed is ripe in the late summer. The
seed can also be sown in situ in late spring[1]. Germination usually takes
place within 3 weeks[200].
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [S] SW USA Dist. Maps
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [FEIS] Data
(Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for erodium cicutarium (a possible synonym).
References for the family Geraniaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.
[84] Coyle. J. and Roberts. N. C. A Field Guide to the Common and Interesting Plants of Baja California. Natural History Publishing Co. 1975
A very readable pocket flora with good illustrations, it gives quite a few plant uses.
[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.
[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Erodium+cicutarium
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Erodium+cicutarium
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