Erodium brevifolium

Plant perennial, dioecious, a cushion formed by many stem crowns, about 150 mm across; caudex very thick, densely covered with old petioles and stipules.

Leaves: Leaf lamina ovate-oblong in outline, basal leaves 15-25mm x 7-15mm, pinnae deeply 1-2 pinnatifid, these lobes oblong, obtuse, lobes rather rounded, grey, softly short hairy, not silvery, aromatic; petioles retrorse hirsute, eglandular; 1-1.5 x lamina length.

Inflorescence: Flowering stems thin, with tiny leaves; flowers almost axillary, small, c10 mm across on filiform pedicils, very few per umbel, 1-4 flowers, on short thin stems with much reduced leaves, red-purple; sepals 5-7mm (incl. mucro of 1 mm) to 10 mm in fruit, covered in long spreading hairs and short glandular hairs; no mucro.

Fruit: Furrow 0; beak 23 mm?, 2n=

Distribution: Type coll. Turkey then Prov. Armenia, at Szandschak Gumaschkhane “in montane stony places” at 1600m. Limestone rocks

Synonym: Erodium amanum ssp. brevifolium Davis and Roberts

Notes: differs from E. amanum in leaves being shorter (ovate-oblong rather than oblong) and short hairy, grey, with retrorsely hirsute petioles, and flower colour.