Geranium solanderi
Geranium solanderi (common names - native geranium,[5] Australian cranesbill, Austral cranesbill, Cut-leaf cranesbill, native carrot, and hairy geranium)[6] is a species of plant in the family Geraniaceae. It is native to Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania),[5] and to New Zealand.[7]
| Geranium solanderi | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Geraniales |
| Family: | Geraniaceae |
| Genus: | Geranium |
| Species: | G. solanderi |
| Binomial name | |
| Geranium solanderi | |
| Synonyms[4] | |
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Geranium carolinianum var. australe (Benth.) Fosberg | |
It was first described in 1800 by Daniel Solander as Geranium pilosum, from a specimen found in New Zealand.[2][8][9] However, the name was illegal (having already been used in 1787 by Antonio José Cavanilles)[10] and it was renamed in 1965 by Roger Charles Carolin, with the species epithet, solanderi, honouring Solander.[2][3]
Description
Geranium solanderi is a perennial, spreading herb with the ends growing upward. The stemas are up 50 cm long, and coarsely hairy. The taproot is swollen and often like a turnip.[5]
The leaves on the flowering stems are opposite and palmatisect ( leaf cut into lobes to up to more than halfway in a palmate form). They are 1–3 cm long by 1.5–5 cm wide, with 5–10 lobes, and hairy on a stalk (petiole) up to 5 cm long.[5]
The flowers are paired (rarely solitary) on an inflorescence stald (peduncle) which is 1–4 cm long, with each flower on a flower stalk (pedicel) which is 2.5–5 cm long. The sepals are 5–9 mm long, and the pink petals are 5–12 mm long, pink and often have yellowish veins. The anthers are yellow. The fruits are 12–25 mm long and the seeds are black.[5]
Conservation status
In New Zealand, in both 2004 and 2009 it was declared "Not threatened", but in 2012, under the New Zealand Threat Classification System it was declared "At Risk - Declining", with the qualifiers SO (safe overseas) and DP (data poor),[7] and this status was reaffirmed in 2017.[1]
Aboriginal uses
The Noongar people of south west Western Australia used the older red tuberous roots (after cooking) to treat diarrhoea.[6]
References
- de Lange, P.J.; Rolfe, J.R.; Barkla, J.W.; Courtney, S.P.; Champion, P.D.; Perrie, L.R.; Beadel, S.M.; Ford, K.A.; Breitwieser, I.; Schönberger, I; Hindmarsh-Walls, R.; Heenan, P.B.; Ladley, Kate (1 May 2018). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 35. OCLC 1041649797.
- "Geranium solanderi". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- Carolin, R.C. (1965). "The genus Geranium in the South Western Pacific Area". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 89 (3): 350, t. 6(2-3), 7(1-2).
- "Geranium solanderi Carolin | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- Harden, G.J. "PlantNET - FloraOnline: Geranium solanderi". plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- Hansen, V.; Horsefall, J. (2016). Noongar Bush Medicine Medicinal plants of the south-west of Western Australia. Crawley, WA: University of Western Australia. p. 123. ISBN 9781742589060.
- "Geranium solanderi". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- "Geranium pilosum". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- Willdenow, C.L. (1800). "Monadelphia decandria". Species Plantarum Edn. 4. 1. 3: 706.
- "Geranium pilosum | International Plant Names Index". www.ipni.org. Retrieved 3 June 2020.