Geum macrophyllum
Large-leaved avens
(c) Thomas Gyselinck, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Thomas Gyselinck · licence
Family: Rosaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Geum macrophyllum (Large-leaved avens) is a native California herb in the Rosaceae family, recognized by no sympatric species.
Large-leaved avens is a California native perennial found in various bioregions in moist forest, meadow, and streamside habitats. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces bright yellow flowers 5 to 7 millimeters wide with rounded, obovate petals. Growing with erect stems 20 to 110 centimeters tall, it forms a tufted habit that dries to a greenish color. Its compound leaves reach 10 to 45 centimeters long, with 2 to 4 leaflets on each side and a terminal leaflet that is 8 to 10 centimeters wide, bluntly heart-shaped and three-lobed with irregular tooth edges. The fruit develops a hooked style 2.5 to 6 millimeters long with a glandular surface.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Geographically isolated; no sympatric species
Habitat and range
California counties: San Bernardino, Fresno, Siskiyou, El Dorado, Inyo, Tulare, Mono, Del Norte, Modoc, Plumas, Butte, Lassen, Madera, Tuolumne, Amador, Mendocino, Placer, Shasta, Alpine, Trinity, Calaveras, Glenn, Mariposa, Sierra, Humboldt, Kern, Nevada, Tehama, Colusa, Lake
How to tell it apart
vs Potentilla: Geum achenes bear a persistent, hooked or feathery elongating style that catches on fur; Potentilla achenes are smooth and styleless.; vs Fragaria: Geum flowers nod and the fruit is a dry head of awned achenes; Fragaria fruit swells into a fleshy red strawberry studded with surface achenes.; vs Duchesnea: Geum has cup-shaped flowers over a bracted hypanthium and a dry awned achene head; Duchesnea has solitary yellow flowers and a spongy, tasteless red mock-strawberry.; vs Drymocallis: Geum leaves have a large terminal leaflet and achenes tipped with hooked or plumose beaks; Drymocallis is glandular-sticky with beakless, smooth achenes.; vs Agrimonia: Geum bears open cup-shaped flowers and a head of naked awned achenes; Agrimonia carries flowers in a long slender spike and encloses the fruit in a bur-like hooked hypanthium.
Frequently asked questions
Is Geum macrophyllum native to California?
Yes. Geum macrophyllum is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Geum macrophyllum grow?
Geum macrophyllum occurs in San Bernardino, Fresno, Siskiyou, El Dorado, Inyo, Tulare, Mono, Del Norte and other counties.
What plant family does Geum macrophyllum belong to?
Geum macrophyllum is in the Rosaceae family, genus Geum.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.