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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE GERANIUM FAMILY | |||||||||
| The geraniums are commonly used as
ornamentals in flower gardens because of their brightly coloured flowers
and unique smell. The geraniums native to Saskatchewan are not as brightly
coloured as the flowers planted in gardens, but they can still be very attractive
plants. Geraniums are herbaceous in this part of the world. The stems are erect and may be covered in glandular hairs. The leaves are palmately or pinnately lobed or compound. The flowers are in clusters called cymes, where the flower at the top matures first. Occasionally the flowers are solitary in the upper leaf axils. The flowers have five sepals and petals and 10 stamens. The sepals are usually green and the petals are often purple or white. The stamens are in two rows and are fused at the base of the filament. A unique feature of the geraniums is the stylar beak which elongates in fruit and protrudes from the persistent sepals. The fruit is and thin and splits into five one-seeded segments that recoil when dry. |
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| STICKY PURPLE GERANIUM | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Geranium viscosissimum var. viscosissimum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Sticky purple geranium grows as tall as 90 cm from a stout, woody rootstock. The leaves are deeply divided into five to seven segments and are covered in stiff and glandular hairs. The inflorescences are stalked. It is common to see only two flowers in the inflorescence. The sepals are green and have a short awn. The petals are pinkish lavender to purple. The fruit is a glandular hairy capsule that splits from the bottom up into five segments. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Sticky purple geranium grows in moist, wooded, shrubby, or grassy slopes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland and Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Sticky purple geranium is vulnerable because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan and is regionally restricted to the Cypress Hills and surrounding area. This species is usually locally numerous but in limited areas. No immediate threats are known for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY STICKY PURPLE GERANIUM | |||||||||
| * Are petals pinkish lavender or purple? * Is the fruit glandular-hairy? * Are the leaves divided into five to seven segments? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found sticky purple geranium! | |||||||||
