1. Geraniaceae “The Geranium Family”
By Jerry Warmbold

2. Geraniaceae 7 to 10 genera's 2 Found in Minnesota Geranium Erodium
With a total of ~800 species

3. Geraniaceae Characteristics
Herbs or shrubs
Leaves alternate or opposite, simple to pinnately or palmately compound, and lobed
Most often stipulate
Synoecious
Inflorescence of cymose umbels, rarely solitary flowers or compound cymes
Flowers perfect, regular, or irregular
Sepals 5, 4, or 8; distinct or basally connate
Petals 5 (0, 2, 4, or 8) and distinct
Stamens 5-15 distinct or filaments basally connate
Carpels 5 (3-8), and connate
Superior ovary
Schizocarp fruit
Edible when plant is young, but dried mericarps can injure livestock
Most often 5 merous
A schizocarp is a dry fruit that develops from multiple carpels. When mature it splits up into mericarps. Mericarps are often 1-seeded as in, for example, Malva, Malvastrum, and Sida. In others, for example, in Abutilon, the mericarps have two or more seeds.
The mericarp is either:
Dehiscent (splits open to release the seed), for example members of the genus Geranium. This is similar to what happens with a capsule, but with an extra stage.
Indehiscent (remaining closed), such as in the carrot or in members of the genus Malva.
Irrregular flowers are flowers with petals that are dissimilar in shape

4. Geranium maculatum Wild Geranium
Low perennial herb
Dicot
Leaves in colonies of long petioled, palmately cleft, gland tipped, basal leaves
flowers in pairs,
Petals pink/purple and longer than the calyx
Crane’s bill fruits , splitting into curly segments
Flowers from April – June
Found in rocky open woods, thickets, and ravines
Pubescent stem

5. Geranium maculatum

6. References
Walters, Dirk., Keil, David., Murrell, Zack Vascular Plant Taxonomy . 5th ed. U.S.: Kendall/Hunt Print.