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Erodium, Genus, moschatum, Species,

Genus & species

musk stork's-bill

Geraniaceae

Mediterranean Basin and western Europe

Attracts Pollinators Drought Tolerant

SunFull Sun

WaterLow · drought-tolerant

Overview

Erodium moschatum is an annual to biennial herb forming a basal rosette 6-16 inches (15-40 cm) across, with sprawling flower stems 4-24 inches (10-60 cm) long. Leaves are pinnately compound, 2-8 inches (5-20 cm) long, with 7-13 pairs of oval, coarsely toothed leaflets, and give off a musky odor when crushed. Stems and leaves are covered in soft glandular hairs. Flowers are borne in stalked clusters of 5-12, each 0.4-0.6 inch (10-15 mm) across with five pink to lavender petals and purple anthers. Each flower lasts about one day. The fruit is a slender beaked structure 1-1.6 inches (2.5-4 cm) long resembling a stork bill; at maturity it splits into five segments, each with a spirally coiling awn that drives the seed into the soil. Flowering runs from late winter through spring. Plants complete their life cycle in one season in mild climates and die after seeding. In trampled or grazed ground the rosette stays flat and compact.

Native Range

Native to the Mediterranean Basin and western Europe. Naturalized across North America, South America, southern Africa, and Australia, where it grows in pastures, roadsides, gardens, and other disturbed open ground, mostly below 3,000 feet (900 m).

Suggested Uses

Generally treated as a weed of lawns, pastures, and cultivated ground rather than a planted species. It colonizes bare disturbed soil and contributes early-spring forage on rangeland. It is not commonly sold or grown ornamentally.

How to Identify

Recognized by pinnately compound leaves with 7-13 pairs of toothed leaflets that smell musky when bruised, and by the long beaked fruit 1-1.6 inches (2.5-4 cm) long that coils into a spiral as it dries. The pink to lavender five-petaled flowers, 0.4-0.6 inch (10-15 mm) across, separate it from true geraniums by their five fertile stamens and coiling seed tails. Leaves are larger and less divided than those of Erodium cicutarium.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height4" - 2'

Width/Spread6" - 1'4"

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Fall Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~8 weeks

Flowers: February–May

Winter Spring

Flowers from late winter through spring, mainly February to May in the Northern Hemisphere, and earlier in mild coastal climates. Each flower opens for about a day, but a single plant flowers over 6-10 weeks. Bloom ends as summer heat dries the plants.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

pink to lavender

Foliage Description

green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.5 (Acidic to alkaline)

3579

Soil Types

sand loam clay silt

Drainageaverage

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Drought Tolerance

Drought tolerant when established

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grows in full sun on a wide range of soils, from sand to clay, and tolerates poor and compacted ground. It germinates with autumn or winter rain and needs no supplemental water in its native climate. In gardens it self-seeds and can spread into lawns and beds. Rust fungi occasionally spot the leaves but rarely affect survival. The coiling fruit awns cling to fur and clothing, scattering seed. Rosettes lift out of the soil easily before the fruit matures.

Pruning

No pruning is required. Removing the rosettes before the beaked fruit ripens reduces self-seeding. Mowing cuts the flower stems, but rosettes regrow from the crown in trampled sites.

Toxicity

Non-toxic

Related Erodium species

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Annual

Erodium, Genus, moschatum, Species,

Genus & species

musk stork's-bill

Geraniaceae

Mediterranean Basin and western Europe

Attracts Pollinators Drought Tolerant

SunFull Sun

WaterLow · drought-tolerant