Erodium stephanianum — Stephen's stork's-bill
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New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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enlargeFacts
Stephen's stork's-bill is native to Asia and has been collected from the waste dump of a nineteenth-century wool-carding factory in Massachusetts. It is used in traditional medicine in Asia.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- Leaf type
- the leaves are compound (made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaf arrangement
- opposite: there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Number of sepals, petals or tepals
- there are five petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
- Fusion of sepals and petals
- both the petals and sepals are separate and not fused
- Stamen number
- 10
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
-
Clonal plantlets
- Bulbils
- the plant does not appear to have bulbils
- Bulblets replace flowers
- there are no bulblets where the flowers are located
-
Flowers
- Anther opening
- the anthers have narrow slits or furrows that run lengthwise along the anthers
- Anther spurs
- the anthers do not have spurs on them
- Calyx growth after flowering
- the calyx grows to cover or partially cover the fruit
- Calyx symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the calyx (the calyx is radially symmetrical)
- Carpel hairs
- the carpels have hairs, but they are not thick and woolly
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Cleistogamous flowers
- there are no cleistogamous flowers on the plan
- Corolla morphology
- NA
- Corolla palate
- no
- Corona lobe length
- 0 mm
- Epicalyx
- the flower does not have an epicalyx
- Epicalyx number of parts
- 0
- Flower description
- the flower has a superior ovary, and lacks a hypanthium
- Flower number
- 4–5
- Flower reproductive parts
- the flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Flowers sunken into stem
- no
- Form of style
- the style is unbranched, but it has two or more narrow appendages that are part of the stigma
- Fused stamen clusters
- NA
- Fusion of sepals and petals
- both the petals and sepals are separate and not fused
- Horns in hoods (Asclepias)
- NA
- Hypanthium
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence one-sided
- the flowers are arrayed in a spiral around the inflorescence axis or branches, or occur singly, or in several ranks
- Inner tepals (Rumex)
- NA
- Nectar spur
- the flower has no nectar spurs
- Number of carpels
- 5
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Number of sepals, petals or tepals
- there are five petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
- Number of styles
- 1–5
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Perianth shape
-
- the perianth is cupuliform (cup-shaped)
- the perianth is rotate (platter-shaped, the corolla flattened, circular, with nearly horizontally spreading lobes)
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal folds or pleats
- the petals of the flower do not have folds or plaits
- Petal hairs (Viola)
- NA
- Petal nectaries
- the petals have at least one nectary
- Petal number
- 4–5
- Petal tips (Cuscuta)
- NA
- Reproductive system
- all the flowers have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)
- Scales inside corolla
- no
- Sepal and petal color
- the sepals are different from the petals
- Sepal appearance
- the sepals are green or brown, and leaf-like in texture
- Sepal appendages
- the sepals do not have appendages on them
- Sepal appendages (Oenothera)
- NA
- Sepal color
- green to brown
- Sepal number
- 5
- Sepal texture
- the sepals are either very thin but flexible, like a membrane, or they are leaf-like in texture
- Sepals fused only to sepals
- the sepals are separate from one another
- Stamen morphology
- the stamens within a cycle differ in length or width
- Stamen number
- 10
- Stamen position relative to petals
- the stamens are lined up with the sepals
- Staminodes
- the flower has staminodes
- Stigma position
- the stigmas are positioned at the tip of the style
- Style petal-like
- the styles are not petal-like
- Umbel flower reproductive parts
- NA
- Upper lip of bilabiate corolla
- NA
-
Fruits or seeds
- Achene relative orientation
- NA
- Achene shape
- NA
- Achene surface (Polygonum)
- NA
- Achene type
- NA
- Berry color
- NA
- Capsule color (Viola)
- NA
- Capsule ribs
- NA
- Capsule splitting
- NA
- Fruit (pyxis) dehiscence
- NA
- Fruit features (Brassicaceae)
- NA
- Fruit locules
- five
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a schizocarp (when dry it splits into sections, each holding one or more seeds)
- Legumes (Fabaceae)
- NA
- Mericarp segment shape (Desmodium)
- NA
- Other markings on berry
- NA
- Ovary stipe
- the ovary or fruit does not have a stipe
- Placenta arrangement
- the plant has axile placentation, in which the ovules are attached where the septa of a compound ovary are united, usually on the central axis, or to the septa themselves
- Rows of seeds in fruit (Brassicaceae)
- NA
- Schizocarpic fruit compression
- the fruit is not flattened
- Schizocarpic fruit segments
- 5
- Seed number
- Up to 1
- Seed surface
- the seed is smooth or without clear markings
- Septum in fruit (Brassicaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- the fruit does not have wings on it
- prickles on fruits
- the fruits do not have thorn-like defensive structures
-
Glands or sap
- Glands on leaf blade
- the leaf blades do not have glandular dots or scales
- Sap
- the sap is clear and watery
- Sap color
- the sap is clear
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is an herb (it has self-supporting stems)
- Parasitism
- the plant is not parasitic
- Plant color
- the leaves or young stems of the plant are green
- Plants darken when dry
- no
- Spines on plant
- the plant has no spines
-
Leaves
- Bracteole number (Apiaceae)
- 0
- Bracts in plantain (Plantago)
- NA
- Final leaf segment length to width ratio (compound lvs only)
- anything
- Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)
- 0 mm
- Leaf arrangement
- opposite: there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Leaf blade primary vein pattern
- the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the primary vein
- Leaf blade surface colors
- the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color
- Leaf blade texture
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they whither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf form
- the leaves are green, with an expanded blade and a leaf-like texture
- Leaf spines
- there are no spines on the leaf edges
- Leaf stalk attachment to leaf
- the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
- Leaf stalk base
- the petiole base is narrow where it attaches to the stem
- Leaf type
- the leaves are compound (made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Pinnately compound leaf type
- the pinnately compound leaves have a terminal leaflet (and usually have an odd number of leaflets per axis)
- Specific leaf type
- the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis
- Stipule features
- NA
- Stipules
- the plant has stipules
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- Specific habitat
- man-made or disturbed habitats
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Branched tendrils
- NA
- Flowering stem cross-section
-
- the flowering stem has strong or sharp angles, but is not square
- the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles so that it is roughly circular
- Hooked hairs on stem between nodes
- no
- Leaves on stem
- there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem
- Tendril origin
- NA
- Tendrils
- the plant does not have tendrils
Wetland status
Not classified
New England distribution and conservation status
Distribution
- Connecticut
- absent
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- absent
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- absent
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
Native to North America?
No
Sometimes confused with
- Erodium ciconium:
- carpel beaks 60–100 mm long, sepals 12–15 mm long, mericarp bodies 9–11 mm long (vs. E. stephanianum, with carpel beaks 25–42 mm long, sepals 8–12 mm long, and mericarp bodies 8–9 mm long).
- Erodium malacoides:
- sepals 5-7 mm long, mericarps 3-5 mm long, and carpel beaks 18-35 mm long (vs. E. stephanianum, with sepals 8-12 mm long, mericarps 8-9 mm long, and carpel beaks 25-42 mm long).
Family
Genus
From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae
7. Erodium stephanianum Willd. E
Stephen’s stork’s-bill. MA. Wool waste.