Thursday, August 6, 2009
New Plant Quiz = G. sibiricum
This plant quiz is unrelated to the previous quizzes. In fact, it would be more accurate to call it an unknown. I plan to spend more time researching it, but right now it is still a mystery. Any help is appreciated. The leaves are opposite, uniform, and deeply three-lobed. Habitat - forested floodplain. Location, Wayne County, Indiana, near Richmond. Habit - creeping to semi-erect plant. 
I've never seen anything like this, but I know it is a Geranium. A quick run through the key in Gleason and Cronquist gave me the name G. sibiricum. Since I don't know said species, this is my best estimation. Gleason and Cronquist say that it blooms in August-September, so this makes sense too. I would like to see if anyone else agrees. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteNever seen this before... I'm guessing it's a garden escape. How long are the petals? They look larger than 2cm, which they shouldn't be in G. sibiricum. G. sibiricum is on vPlants, and the herbarium specimens shown don't look much like Ben's plant. If the petals are less than 2cm, we shouldn't rule out G. nepalense, mentioned under G. sibiricum in Gleason and Cronquist. There's also the potential for other garden species not in the keys. Also, Geranium aequale is included in the list of plants known from Indiana, but I can't find any information on this species. Ben, I hope you collected it.
ReplyDeleteAfter some confirmation, it does seem to be Geranium sibiricum. It was in a floodplain, so it must have washed downstream. We found two different plants in bloom on opposite sides of the creek. Thanks.
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