Saturday, 5 July 2025

Not much to look at, but-

 Every so often something new appears in the village and it is always worth checking to see if it has been recorded before. It was exciting therefore to find that a small, hardly noticeable, plant growing on the grass verge outside my house had not been. Here it is.

You will see why I put 'not much to look at' on the heading. My first thought was this must be a very stunted Dove's Foot Cranesbill going by the shape of the broad leaves, but on checking in the Flora it seems to be Small Flowered Cranesbill, Geranium pusillum. The lilac flowers, only a quarter of an inch wide, are stated to be common in the Poole Basin but rare in the west of Dorset. Click to enlarge the photo to find them.

Unsurprisingly there is no Dorset name for this plant, though its close Geranium relative, Herb Robert, has many. (Shortly after I took the photo the Dorset Council mower came along, but I hope they flower again.)