Every Wednesday, I hope to find a new ‘weed’ to investigate. My only criterion will be that I will not have deliberately planted the subject of our inquiry. Who knows what we will find…..
Hedgerow Cranesbill (Geranium pyrenaicum)
Dear Readers, this is one of those ‘weeds’ that has probably been popping up all around me for years, but which I have only noticed since I started the blog. There is scarcely a walk that goes by that doesn’t involve me coming to an abrupt halt, peering down, and rubbing my chin in perturbation. It isn’t hard to see that this little plant is some kind of geranium, but the leaves, which look rather like butterfly wings, are the dead giveaway.
Hedgerow cranesbill is from southern Europe, was first recorded in the UK in 1762, and is ‘still spreading’ according to my Harraps Wild Flowers. A cultivated variety of the plant, called ‘Bill Wallis’, is lauded to the skies on various gardening websites for its vigorous flowering, so I wonder if these plants are truly ‘wild’ or have hopped over a garden fence. Whatever the reason, they are to be found all over East Finchley. If you should wish to purchase some ‘Bill Wallis’, or indeed to have a look at it, there is a link to a nursery who sells it here, and very pretty it is too.
There seem to be no traditional medical uses for this little plant, but there have been several studies on the efficacy of some of the chemicals that it contains against Leishmaniasis, a tropical protozoan disease spread by sandflies. There are 12 million people infected in 98 countries, and between 20,000 and 50,000 people die every year as a result of this scourge. As the parasite is now immune to many of the usual treatments, it would be great news if hedgerow cranesbill were to be efficacious.
It doesn’t appear that many humans have tucked into hedgerow cranesbill for their dinner, but it is a popular bee plant, in spite of the small size of the flowers – there seems to be little correlation between the size of a bloom and how much the pollinators enjoy it. Plus, the long, long flowering season is a bonus – I took the photo above in mid-June, and this plant is still covered in blossoms.
It is also used as a food plant by the larvae of the brown argus butterfly (Aricia agestis), which has a fascinating lifecycle – the caterpillar produces a secretion which attracts ants, who then act as a kind of praetorian guard as the larva goes about its business.
![By Charlesjsharp (Own work, from Sharp Photography) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/bugwomanlondon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/brown_argus_butterflies_aricia_agestis_3_of_5.jpg?ssl=1)
Brown argus butterflies (Photo One – see credit below)
Photo Credits
Photo One – By Charlesjsharp (Own work, from Sharp Photography) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
All other photographs copyright Vivienne Palmer. Free to use or share non-commercially, but please attribute and link back to the blog, thank you.
A pretty little thing. I don’t believe in weeds. I just call them wild.
I know. I always hope that by calling them ‘weeds’ and then telling their story, people will look at them in a different way…..
your posts are so good – always full of observation and information. Very rewarding. How are those foxes?
Hi rosni3, my friend B has been looking after the foxes while I’ve been on my course, but apparently the youngsters have moved off, just leaving the original fox and vixen. I shall visit tomorrow, so there may be more news next week…
Here in the Pacific Northwest of the USA this (or a very close variety of the plant) has become extremely invasive. For years I admired its foliage and flowers in my garden, but now it is everywhere! I pull it up whenever I see the pretty pink flower and so far I think it’s a draw.
Hi Lynn, yes it is a bit of thug in disguise I fear. I am having the same trouble with a plant called Herb Bennet, which has just decided to invade every spare corner of the garden. It’s funny how they are shy and demure for years and then go berserk.
Yes, I have Herb Bennet as well! I think my cat spreads it around by catching its seeds in his fur. I try to pick all the flowers before they go to seed, but I always miss some. It is almost impossible to uproot the plant