Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Wild Geranium
Some lilies, such as Dames Rocket or Early Yellowrocket are not to be missed, even at a distance, as they typically are seen growing en masse, adorning their fields with clouds of color.
The Wild Geranium, however, is a wildflower that, although it resembles Dames Rocket in its coloring, does not announce its presence from a distance.
One of the most widespread of the native wildflowers, it grows as a solitary plant or in small groups in open woods from Newfoundland in the north, westward to Manitoba, and southward as far as Georgia.
One day wandering through a open glade in the George Washington National Forest awhile back, I was pleasantly surprised to find this native perennial seemingly appear right at my feet. Although growing alone and displaying only a single, pastel lavender blossom, its quiet beauty was not lost in its field, a patch of open forest.
As it has been said:...even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
We can appreciate this pretty wildflower simply for the fragile beauty of its blossom, but it was valued in times past by Native Americans and settlers across eastern North America more for what was below ground. Geranium maculatum, which as we'll see is a plant of many names, was sought out and harvested each year for the tannic acid found in its long taproot.
Dug up in the early spring, when the distinctive foliage had appeared to identify the plant, but before the blossoms had put out, the roots were dried and then ground into a powder.
(Since it was gathered before the flowers had blossomed, I can picture mothers of bygone times telling their children to gather the plants with the leaves that looked like "a birds foot," because the plant is also called Crowfoot and Doves-foot in some areas.)
And the hunt was worth the prize: The tannic acid concentration is sufficiently high for it to substitute for alum in tanning of hides, which led to another common name for this versatile plant: Alum Root.
The acidic astringency of Wild Geranium was effective in the treatment of infections, too, so much so that it was a part of the herbal pharmacopeias of both Canada and the United States, along with another flowering herb called by the same common name in some locales, American Alumroot.
The ground root of Wild Geranium was used in a diluted wash to treat oral irritations in infants, including the yeast infection known as "thrush". It was also used as a soothing poultice to aid healing of the severed umbilical in newborns.
Older adults prized it as an effective yet mild sedative, from which came another name, Old-maid's-nightcap.
Some other interesting names: In Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, it is called Cranes-bill from the shape of the seedpod; residents of other parts of the continent familiar with storks have named it Storks-bill.
(To see its cousin, with a similar common name, go to Carolina Cranes-bill.)
The botanical suffix, maculatum = spotted (opposite of immaculate), refers to the plant's spotted leaves, thus some locales know the the plant as Spotted Cranes-bill, Spotted Geranium, and so forth.
So, whatever you call Geranium maculatum in your area, know that your name is but one of a number of interesting dubbings for this pastel charmer. No doubt you too have noticed that most of common names do not appear to be linked to the identification of the wildflower itself; instead the local labels seem to be connected to the harvesting of its root. I'm thankful that the lily known as Wild Geranium, Alum Root, Storks-bill, Doves-foot, Spotted Cranes-bill, ... has survived harvesting in seasons past, so that we still have these lavender blossoms to surprise us with their understated splendor in a shady glade in the forest.
A fascinating lily!
Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.