Origin:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Biennial or annual
General Desc:
Ground hugging fern-like foliage with pinkish-violet flowers. Ripening seed pod resembles a heron's beak. Identification notes: Annual, biennial, slender trailing glandular-hairy stems. Leaves basal and opposite, pinnate, longer than wide; leaflets pinnatifid. Sepals 1 to 3, short white bristles. Flowers pink to lavender. Fruits have 5 hairy, single-seeded sharp-beaked segments. Height:
Prostrate to 20 inches Habitat
Habitat Description: Found in disturbed, often dry places. Plant Communities:
Disturbed Areas Elevation: Below 7200 feet Flower Characteristics
Color:
Pinkish-purple
Shape:
Regular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Feb - Jul Description:
Pinkish-purple, with 5 petals, to 1/4 inch wide, in loose rounded clusters.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Compound
Leaf Shape:
Pinnatifid
Leaf Margin:
Dissected
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and opposite
Leaves Clasp:
N Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
When flowers first appear the leaves are mostly basal and fern-like; stems diffusely branch during the growing season with leaves opposite and also fern-like. Plant can overwinter as a basal rosette. Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit Color: Green to brown Fruit Notes: 5 hairy, single-seeded, nut-like segments formed per flower. Seed Notes: The seeds form coiled appendages. When there's moisture, the appendages uncoil pushing the seed into the soil.
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590