Geranium viscosissimum
Fisch. & C.A. Mey.
Sticky geranium, Sticky purple cranesbill
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What to Eat
Edible parts: Flowers, Leaves
Flowers can be added to salads or used as a garnish. Leaves are edible raw or cooked, though they are not considered choice eating.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant. It grows in subalpine woodland meadows in the Rocky Mountains.
Australia, Canada, North America, Tasmania, USA,
How to Identify
A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It has hairy glands. The stems are 60 cm tall. The leaves have 3-5 lobes. The leaf stalks are slender. The lobes have coarse teeth. The flowers are in clusters and are reddish-purple. The fruit is a dry capsule with a long beak.
How to Grow
Succeeds in any good soil in sun or partial shade. Plants are hardy to about -25°c. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits. This species is closely related to G. nervosum.
Propagation: Sow seed in spring in a cold frame. Once seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and plant out during summer. Divide clumps in spring or autumn — larger clumps can go directly into permanent positions, but smaller ones are best potted up and grown on in a cold frame until well rooted, then planted out in spring.
Medicinal Uses
The whole plant is astringent, salve-like, and styptic. An infusion of the leaves, combined with a steam or sweat bath using the leaves, is used to treat colds. The infusion also serves as a gargle for sore throats. A wash made from an infusion of the leaves or roots is applied to sore eyes. A poultice of the leaves or roots has been used on cuts and sores.
Other Uses
None known
Wikipedia
Source ↗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.
Notes
There are about 300-400 Geranium species. They are mostly temperate.
References (6)
- Cormack, R. G. H., 1967, Wild Flowers of Alberta. Commercial Printers Edmonton, Canada. p 190
- Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 118
- F. E. L. Fischer & J. L. E. Ave-Lallemant, Index sem. hort. petrop. 11(suppl.):18. 1846
- Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 110
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
- Porsild, A.E., 1974, Rocky Mountain Wild Flowers. Natural History Series No. 2 National Museums of Canada. p 270
