Erodium sosnowskianum

This is a squat plant with a thick rhizome covered with blackish remains of old petioles. Stems are thin, somewhat branched, covered with scattered reflexed hairs with some glandular hairs, 5-10cm long.

Leaves are bipinnately divided, oblong, 4-7cm long, 1-1.5cm wide. Lobules are numerous, linear.

Inflorescence: Umbels bear a few small flowers in June, petals are purple with a narrow claw, sepals ovate, densely glandular pubescent, with almost no mucro, anthers are yellow. Beak 4-5cm.

Distribution: Found on alpine pastures of the extinct volcano Ziaret Agmaganskogo (Geghama) range and Aragats mountain range, Armenia at 2400-3000m. Critically Endangered

Close to E. armenum but differs in shorter stems (10-30cm in E. armenum), degree of hairiness, smaller number of flowers in inflorescence, almost absent mucro, and seeds dirty orange, small, 2.7mm cone shaped and smooth as opposed to seeds brown, larger, 4mm, cylindrical and wrinkled in E. armenum. See also Erodium armenum.

Publication details: Federov in Zametki Sist. Geogr. Rast.