Common names:
Texas stork bill, heron's bill
Family:
Scientific name:
Erodium texanum
Main flower color:
Range:
From California to Texas and Oklahoma
Height:
Up to 20 inches
Habitat:
Open plains, scrubland, dry locations
Leaves:
Up to 1.5 inches long, ovate, with shallowly lobed and irregularly toothed edges
Season:
March to May
The reddish green stems of erodium texanum are ascending to prostrate, and have a fine covering of very short, white hairs. Leaves are also sparsely hairy, shallowly lobed, with one terminal lobe and a pair of side lobes. Leaf margins are lined with large, angular teeth, and the surface is crossed by a prominent, branched, depressed vein, often reddish. Leaves grow on stalks, which are shorter than the blades.
The five sepals are hairy at the tip, and around a third of an inch long. The five petals are obovate in shape, colored deep pink-purple (darker at the base), and marked with darker veins. At the center are five purple stamens topped by orange-brown anthers, and a pink, five-lobed pistil. Fruits have five pointed segments and a long, narrow, upwards-pointing beak, tapering to a point.
The five sepals are hairy at the tip, and around a third of an inch long. The five petals are obovate in shape, colored deep pink-purple (darker at the base), and marked with darker veins. At the center are five purple stamens topped by orange-brown anthers, and a pink, five-lobed pistil. Fruits have five pointed segments and a long, narrow, upwards-pointing beak, tapering to a point.
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