Meadow Crane's-bill - Geranium pratense

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Description

Medium to tall, tufted and hairy plant with erect stems and deeply divided leaves. Flowers bright violet blue, 25 to 30 mm petals rounded, fruits hairy.

Similar Species

Several other blue-flowered species, hybrids and cultivars are grown in gardens, and may persist if thrown out

Identification difficulty

Habitat

Roadside verges and hedgebanks.

When to see it

June to September.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Widespread but local in Britain becoming scarcer in northern Scotland.

VC55 Status

Fairly frequent but localised in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 254 of the 617 tetrads.

David Gould
Narborough Bog
01 July 2014
granniejo
Billesdon woodland pool
05 June 2021
David Nicholls
Bagworth Heath
28 June 2014
David Nicholls
Launde Fish Ponds
22 September 2012
David Nicholls
Burbage Common
01 July 2011
David Gould
Aylestone Meadows, Leicester.
05 July 2015

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

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MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species data profile ?

Species profile

Common names: Meadow Crane's-bill
Species group:: Wildflowers
Kingdom:: Plantae
Order:: Geraniales
Family:: Geraniaceae
Records on NatureSpot:: 281
First record:: 01/07/1998 (John Mousley)
Last record:: 17/04/2024 (Smith, Peter)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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