Erodium lebelii - Sticky Stork's-bill
Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Geraniales - Family: Geraniaceae
Sticky Stork's-bill looks very much like Common Stork's-bill but it feels very different: sticky-tipped hairs cover the leaf and stem surfaces. Inevitably granules of sand, blown by the wind, adhere to the leaves.
Description
The low-growing plants have feathery two-pinnate leaves and the five-petalled flowers are typically 7 to 10cm in diameter. Flower colour is variable from almost white to pale pink.
A sand-dune plant, Sticky Stork's-bill is similar to, but much less common than, Common Stork's-bill Erodium cicutarium.
The common name stork's-bill refers to the sharp, beak-like shape of the seeds, which appear once the flowers have died back.
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