code: 927
Large violet blue flowers are produced all summer
Family: Geraniaceae
Plant Classification: Hardy biennial
Maximum Height: 45 cm
A fascinating plant from Sicily. Large violet blue flowers are produced all summer, followed by remarkable, enormous corkscrew seeds which are commercially used for making hygrometers (to measure dampness) – wet one and watch what slowly happens!
Sowing advice:
For best results, sow seeds immediately onto a good soil-based compost. Cover the seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. They can be sown at any time, and germination can sometimes be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. However, we sow most seeds in an unheated greenhouse and wait for natural germination as many seeds have built-in dormancy mechanisms, and often wait for spring before emerging regardless of when they are sown. But spring sowing will obviously give them a full season of growth if successful germination occurs.
Naming
Erodium gruinum was first described and the name validly published by Carl Linnaeus but was revised and reclassified by Charles Louis L’Héritier de Brutelle in 1789.
Taxonomy
Erodium gruinum is a species in the genus Erodium which contains between 140 and 182 species and belongs to the family of the Geraniaceae (Geranium Family). The type species of the genus is Erodium crassifolium.
Synonyms
Erodium monsonioides
Erodium tordilioides
Geranium gruinum
Geranium uniflorum
Characteristics
Growth
The plants reach heights of 20 to 30 centimetres.
Leaves
Erodium gruinum has petiolate leaves.
Flowers and Fruits
Erodium gruinum produces umbels of very pale blue five-stellate flowers from June to August.
Distribution
Erodium gruinum is native to Greece, Sicily and Malta, Crete, Turkey, the Eastern Mediterranean, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Libya.
Cultivation
Location and general conditions
The plants prefer a sunny situation on moderately moist soil. The substrate should be gritty loam. The plants tolerate temperatures down to -12°C.
