Species
Geranium brevicaule
Etymology
Geranium: From the Greek geranos 'crane', the fruit of the plant resembling the head and beak of this bird, hence the common name cranesbill.
brevicaule: with a short stem
Current Conservation Status
2012 - Not Threatened
Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB
Previous Conservation Status
2009 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened
Authority
Geranium brevicaule Hook.f.
Family
Geraniaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Native
GERBRE
The
National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
Structural Class
Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites
Synonyms
Geranium sessiliflorum subp. novae-zelandiae Carolin var. novae-zelandiae; Geranium sessiliflorum var. glabrum Kunth; Geranium sessiliflorum var. maculatum G.Simpson et J.S.Thomson
Distribution
Indigenous. North, South and Stewart Islands. In the N. Island present south of Auckland. Common elsewhere. Present in Australia in the south-east and Tasmania
Habitat
Coastal to subalpine (0-1200 m a.s.l.). In open ground such as short or tall tussock grassland, frost flats, clay pans, freshly deposited alluvium or on rock outcrops.
Features
Herbs 2.5-15.5 cm tall. Rootstock 3.2-10.5 mm diam., without fusiform roots. Basal leaves in a persistent rosette; lamina 7.8-25.6 × 8.9-31.8 mm, polygonal in outline, cordate (with basal leaf segments downward), palmatifid (divided for 0.53-0.74 of its length), pilose, with appressed, eglandular hairs; segments 5-7, obtriangular, 1.4-4.7 mm at the base; petioles up to 130 mm long, with patent to retrorse, appressed, eglandular hairs 0.3-1.2 mm long; stipules 2.7-8.8 × 0.9-2.5 mm, with scattered eglandular hairs on both surfaces and on the margin. Inflorescence with cymules 1-flowered, solitary; peduncles 0-1.1(-1.6) cm long, with patent to retrorse, eglandular hairs 0.15-1.1 mm long; bracteoles 2-6.6 × 0.6-1.3 mm, linear-lanceolate, with scattered eglandular hairs on both surfaces and on the margin; pedicels 33-430 mm long, with patent to retrorse, eglandular hairs 0.15-1.1 mm long; pedicel not overtopping the subtending leaf. Sepals (3.3-)4.4-5.7(-7.1) × 1.4-3.1 mm, lanceolate, with scarious margins 0.1-0.2 mm wide, with erect-patent, eglandular hairs 0.3-0.6 mm long on the abaxial side (patent hairs 1-1.7 mm long on the margin), glabrescent adaxially. Petals 2.8-5.5(-6.5) × 1-3.1 mm, entire, without claw, glabrous, rarely with few cilia on the basal margin, deep pink to white. Filaments 1.6-3.0 mm long, yellowish, glabrous on both sides, ciliate on the basal margin, with hairs up to 0.1-0.2 mm long; anthers 0.4-0.7 × 0.2-0.7 mm, yellowish. Nectaries glabrous. Gynoecium 2-3.4 mm long, unknown color. Fruit 8.4-17.6 mm long; mericarps 2.2-3.6 × 1.0-1.7 mm, smooth, with erect-patent, eglandular hairs 0.2-1.1 mm long, brownish; rostrum 5.1-11.7 mm long, without a narrowed apex, with erect-patent, eglandular hairs 0.1-0.6 mm long; stigmatic remains 0.9-1.2(-1.6) mm long, with 5 hairy lobes. Seeds 1.5-2.8 × 0.7-1.4 mm, finely reticulate; hilum 1/6 as long as the perimeter.
Similar Taxa
Easily recognised from other indigenous and naturalised Geranium species in NZ by small, compact, growth habit, stout taproot, persistent basal leaves, very short flowering stems (mostly shorter than basal leaves) and smooth seeds. It is a variable species and numerous colour morphs are known, the most common forms have either green or purple leaves. Plants with green mottled purple or brown leaves have been known as G. sessiliflorum var. maculatum - a colour variant no longer regarded as distinct.
Flowering
Year round
Flower Colours
Red / Pink,White
Fruiting
Year round
Propagation Technique
Easily grown from fresh seed. Various colour morphs have a genetic basis. With careful selection some attractive forms could be marketed. Excellent pot plant. Ideal for dry, well drained, sunny locations.
Threats
Not Threatened
Chromosome No.
2n = 52
Endemic Taxon
Yes
Endemic Genus
No
Endemic Family
No
Life Cycle and Dispersal
Seed dispersed by wind and ballistic projection (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
TAXONOMIC NOTES
The most recent treatment of the genus confines G. sessiliflorum Cav. to South America (see Aedo, et al 2005). NZPCN agrees that Australasian plants do not match the S. American plants, and so the earliest available name for Australasian plants is G. brevicaule Hook.f. But there remain problems within New Zealand plants referred by Aedo et al. (2005) to G. brevicaule (e.g., the status of G. sessiliflorum var. arenarium G.Simpson et J.S.Thomson, and also a range of potentially distinct races currently treated within a broad circumscription of G. brevicaule).
Attribution
Fact Sheet by P.J. de Lange 8 June 2006: Description from Aedo et al. (2005).
References and further reading
Aedo, C.; Navarroa, C.; Alarcon, M.L. 2005: Taxonomic revision of Geranium sections Andina and Chilensia (Geraniaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 149(1): 1-68
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
This page last updated on 25 Jun 2016