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Geranium maculatum

Common name:	Spotted Cranesbill	Family:	Geraniaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Maine to Georgia, west to Arkansas, Kansas and Manitoba.
Habitat:	Wet places in woods, wet rocks and in swamps[187]. Woodlands, thickets and meadows[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Alum Bloom [H], Alum Root [H], American Cranesbill Root [H], Benekli Turnagagasi [E], Chocolate Flower [H], Cranesbill [E,S], Cranesbill, Wild Geranium [S], Crowfoot [H], Dove's Foot [H], Geranium, Wild [S], Old Maid's Nightcap [H], Shameface [H], Spotted Crane's-bill [B], Spotted Cranesbill [H], Spotted Geranium [P], Storkbill [H], Wild Cranesbill [H,L], Wild Geranium [H,S,FEIS],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	maculatum = spotted;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Geraniales. Geranium family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain; Turkey; Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Appalachia)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.45m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiseptic; Astringent; Diuretic; Kidney; Miscellany; Styptic; Tonic.

The whole plant, but especially the root, is antiseptic, highly astringent, diuretic, styptic and tonic[4, 21, 102, 165, 222, 238]. An infusion of the whole plant, or of the roots alone, is used in the treatment of diarrhoea (especially in children and the elderly), dysentery, irritable bowel syndrome, cholera, kidney complaints, bleeding and a wide range of other ailments[61, 213, 254]. It is often used in combination with other herbs[238]. Externally, it is applied to purulent wounds, haemorrhoids, thrush, vaginal discharges and inflammations of the mouth[238]. The plants are rich in tannin[213], the root containing 10 - 20%[222].
The roots can be harvested in the autumn then dried and stored[213]. It is best to harvest the roots as the plant comes into flower since it is then at its most active medicinally[4]. The leaves are harvested as the plant comes into flower and are dried for later use[238].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Dye; Ground cover; Tannin.

A brown dye is obtained from the flowers[168].
The roots and the leaves are rich in tannin[4].
Plants are suitable for ground cover when spaced about 45cm apart each way[208].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any moderately fertile retentive soil in a sunny position[200]. Tolerates a wide range of soil types[200], including water-logged soils[187].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[187].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[233].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring or autumn. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[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.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[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 the family Geraniaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[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.

[102] Kavasch. B. Native Harvests. Vintage Books 1979 ISBN 0-394-72811-4
Another guide to the wild foods of America.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.

[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.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[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.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[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.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

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
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.