Erodium moschatum   Musk Stork's-bill R DD N

Erodium moschatum Guernsey Erodium moschatum Orme

This is a prostrate and unimpressive Stork's-bill except that the "bills" are very long and pointed while the plant itself is quite sticky. It is supposed to smell musky when bruised but I haven't noticed that.

The site for this rarity on the Great Orme is actually next to the road (on the green triangle) so I usually see it as soon as I've parked the car.

E. moschatum is mostly found in England and quite often near the sea. It is found along the Welsh coast and the east coast of Ireland but there are few records from Scotland.

Geranium colombinus start of Geranium genus
Start of Geranium genus

Guernsey 18th June 2004 (LHS), Great Orme, North Wales, 5th April 2005 (RHS)

Amended on Jan 25th 2005, augmented Feb 10th 2007, updated 9th Jan 2009, updated 29th March 2010

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