Monday 25 October 2010

Unidentified flower

This small flower, about an inch across, was growing on the short turf of Ardnave.  There were single blooms, quite widely spread.  No idea what it is.  Can anyone help?
Cheers
Carl

3 comments:

  1. Dove's-foot Cranesbill (Geranium molle) fits best, but the flowers are normally not more than half an inch across rather than an inch (unless you were exaggerating!) It should have had five-lobed leaves.
    Malcolm

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  2. yes - think I was exaggerating. Not as big as an inch. Def a geranium. Could have been Dune storksbill (Erodium dunense)?
    Carl

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  3. Yes, that's another distinct possibility. The leaves are diagnostic, being pinnate, i.e. cut into pairs of leaflets up the leaf stem and so completely different from the five-lobed leaves of Dove's-foot Cranesbill. Both occur widely on Islay's dunes.
    The botanical authorities regard Dune Storksbill as a subspecies of Common Storksbill, with the scientific name of Erodium cicutarium dunense.
    Malcolm

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