Erodium trifolium

Inflorescence: annual stems ramble to 35cm, carrying axillary umbels of 4-11 flowers; petals white, rounded, not overlapping, upper 2 with a small blotch above the base, composed of purple-brown oval spots; staminodes purple; stamen filaments purple; anthers purple; pollen orange; stigmas purple.

Fruit: Beak 3-3.5cm; mericarp foveole large, with a fold beneath, foveole with capitate glands which often look collapsed at x100. 2n=

Distribution: endemic to Africa – Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia.

Notes: often incorrectly sold as E. pelargoniiflorum. Differs from E.pelargoniiflorum by: the sepals here not needle tipped, the leaves are hairy, the blotch has one colour, the stems are whitish not black. Prof. Guittoneau has determined that these 2 species are ecological duplicates, but not identical species as they are quite inter-sterile. Next to each other they look quite different. E. trifolium is from North Africa, E. pelargoniflorum is from Turkey; E. trifolium is from subsection Malacoidea, while E. pelargoniflorum is closely related to Clade I, Subclade2: (sub)section Absinthoidea.

Erodium trifolium; in cultivation, Tenterden, Kent, UK; 09/05/2018; Photo: Benjamin Coultrup

Erodium pelargoniflorum in cultivation, Ashford, Kent, UK; 2005; Photo: Benjamin Coultrup