Geranium bicknellii

Bicknell's cranesbill

Family: Geraniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Bicknell's cranesbill is a California native annual found in the Klamath Ranges and northern Southern California coastal areas in open, sunny to shaded woodland and conifer forest at elevations of 600 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from January to August, this plant produces pale purple flowers about 4 to 6 millimeters long with slightly notched petals. Growing with decumbent to erect stems 10 to 60 centimeters tall and covered in short, stiff hairs, it has a distinctive spreading growth habit. Its leaves are intricately divided nearly to the base, with 5 to 7 wedge-shaped segments spanning 2 to 7 centimeters wide. The distinctive fruit features a narrow beak 1.5 to 2.1 centimeters long, with smooth mericarp segments and finely pitted seeds.

Habitat: Open, sunny to shaded sites, woodland, conifer forest

Bloom period: Jan-Aug

Elevation: 600-1500 m

Bioregions: KR/CaRH, n SCo

California counties: El Dorado, Los Angeles, Shasta, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Marin, Monterey, Del Norte, San Benito, Yolo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.