Geranium potentilloides

Cinquefoil geranium

Family: Geraniaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Cinquefoil geranium is a naturalized perennial herb found in the central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area bioregions in moist, shaded conifer forest sites at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces white to light pink flowers 6 to 9 millimeters long with rounded or slightly notched petals. Growing with decumbent or ascending stems 15 to 60 centimeters tall that are covered in short, stiff, spreading hairs, it roots at the nodes. Its leaves are divided nearly to the base with 5 to 7 wedge-shaped segments, creating a delicate, lacy appearance. The fruit develops as smooth mericarp with a narrow 10 to 11 millimeter beak.

Habitat: Moist, shaded sites, conifer forest

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB

California counties: Marin, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Monterey

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