Erodium cicutarium

It is a perennial monoecious herb which typically grows in rosettes pressed flat to the ground, with a deep tap root that allows it to survive through the summer on dry soils. It can develop stems up to 60 cm long which are sometimes red and sometimes green, and may be erect or prostrate, and have simple or glandular hairs which become more abundant towards the top. The stems bear bright pink flowers which often have dark spots on the bases. The flowers are arranged in a loose cluster and have ten filaments – five of which are fertile – and five styles. The leaves are pinnate to pinnate-pinnatifid, with hairy stems. The long seed-pod, shaped like the bill of a stork, bursts open in a spiral when ripe, sending the seeds (which have long tails called awns) into the air.