Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Sticky purple geranium

(Geranium viscosissimum)

galery
en

Description

Geranium viscosissimum, commonly known as the sticky purple geranium, is a perennial in the flowering plant family Geraniaceae. It is thought to be a protocarnivorous plant. Geranium viscosissimum is a large, clumped 0.5–3 feet (0.15–0.91 m) tall perennial wild geranium. The stem, leaves, and flower stalks are covered with sticky hairs. The right-green leaves are dissected, many-toothed, and deeply-lobed. Its bloom period is April to September, depending on elevation and latitude. It has saucer-shaped, pink-to-purple flowers measuring 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) with reddish-purple lines on the petals. They occur in an open cluster near the top of strong, branching and leafy flower stalks, which are 1–2 feet (0.30–0.61 m) tall. This herbaceous perennial plant is native to the Northwestern United States, California, and Nevada, including in the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains regions; and to Western Canada, including in the Canadian Rockies. Habitats it is found in include yellow pine forest, northern juniper woodland, lowland to higher elevation meadows, and wetland-riparian zones; from 3,300–8,200 feet (1,000–2,500 m) in elevation. In his 1999 journal article, G. G. Spomer tested several plants in the Pacific Northwest for the carnivorous syndrome, using the digestion of proteins as the diagnostic tool to determine which plants appeared to produce protease enzymes capable of breaking down potential prey. Geranium viscosissimum displayed a capability to digest and absorb the 14C-labeled algal protein placed on the sticky trichomes that the plant possesses. However, it is not known whether the digestive enzymes were produced by the plant itself or surface microbes. Additionally, some definitions of carnivory require the plant to gain some tangible benefit in capturing and digesting prey, such as increased seed yield or growth. Such an experiment has not been done with this species. Geranium is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Geraniales
Family:Geraniaceae
Genus:Geranium
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