Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

Eurasia and North Africa

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Common

About

An annual weed from the Mediterranean now common in disturbed soils and lawns across California, recognised by its musk-scented pinnate leaves and tiny pink-purple flowers. Its seeds have corkscrew-shaped awns that physically drill themselves into the ground as humidity changes.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Geraniales

Family

Geraniaceae

Genus

Erodium

Species

Erodium moschatum