Sticky Geranium
Geranium viscosissimum
Sticky Geranium (Geranium viscosissimum) is a clump-forming native perennial with sticky, hairy foliage, deeply lobed leaves and 5-petaled pink to purple flowers with darker stripes. In western South Dakota it blooms from May through August in open woods and along streambanks. Photographed in the Black Hills.
| Family | Geraniaceae · Geranium |
|---|---|
| Status | Native perennial |
| Blooms | May through August |
| Height | 30–90 cm (12–35 in) |
| Where | Open woods and streambanks |
| Also called | Sticky Purple Geranium |
Roots, seeds & germination
Seed: A stiff-haired capsule that flings its seeds when it shatters. Seeds mature in late summer and turn brown, and each has a tail that coils and helps it work into the soil.
Germination: Sow in fall, or give seed 60 days of cold, moist treatment before spring planting. One Montana trial also scarified the seed with sandpaper and soaked it 24 to 48 hours.
How do you identify Sticky Geranium?
Touch the leaves and stems: they are covered with stiff hairs and sticky glands. Leaves are palm-shaped with 5 to 7 sharply toothed divisions, and the pink to purple petals, 14 to 20 mm long, have darker stripes. The fruit is shaped like an upraised crane's bill. Richardson's Geranium has white flowers.
When does it bloom?
May through August.
Where does it grow?
Open woods and streambanks in western South Dakota. Elsewhere it also grows in drier grasslands and forests and in moist meadows.
Other flowers to compare
Sources: SDSU Open PRAIRIE: Geranium viscosissimum; Utah State University Extension: Sticky Geranium; Montana State University: Geranium viscosissimum; Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest: Black Hills Native Plants.