Erodium sanguis-christi

Leaves: leaves elliptical to oblong, pinnatipartite usually with one pair of free leaflets at leaf base, grey-green, with dense appressed hairs on both surfaces and sessile glands beneath; segment 3-7, crenate to pinnatipartite, obtuse; lamina 0.5-3.5 cm; petiole 0.5-2.3cm; stipules 1-2 mm ovate, glabrous, membranaceous, whitish.

Erodium sanguis-christi: Photo from floracatalana.net: licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Share 2.5 Spain (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 ES)

Inflorescence: umbels of 2-5; bracts2-6, 0.8-1.5 mm, free, or sometimes 2-3 joined at the base; sepals 2.5 – 4mm, slightly mucronate, with eglandular and glandular hairs, and glands; petals 4.3-7.5 mm, all alike, pink to violet, or rarely white, without a mark at the base; nectaries green to brown; staminodes whitish-pink; stamen filaments pink, anthers purple-blue; pollen yellow; stigmas purple to pink.

Fruit: fruit 30-50 mm; mericarp 3-5mm with yellowish hairs; foveoles eglandular with a narrow furrow. 2n=20 Guitt

Distribution: endemic to Spain, Tarragona on dry limestone rocks near the sea; garrigue.

Erodium sanguis-christi: showing a paler flowered individual: Photo from floracatalana.net: licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Share 2.5 Spain (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 ES)

Erodium sanguis-christi: Photo from floracatalana.net: licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Share 2.5 Spain (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 ES)