Crane's-bill, Cut-leaved

Information on Cut-leaved Crane's-bill

Common Name: Cut-leaved Crane's-bill
Scientific Name: Geranium dissectum
Irish Name: Crobh giobach
Family Group: Geraniaceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Cut-leaved Crane's-bill could sometimes be confused with:

Crane's-bill, Dove's-foot, Crane's-bill, Long-stalked, Crane's-bill, Round-leaved,

This is a short, straggly little member of the family Geraniaceae and as such it shares a number of features with the other Crane's-bills.  Its flower (1cm across at most) has five little notched pink-purple petals.  Its seed dispersal method is similar to the other Crane's-bills in that its seeds are encased within the long pointed seedpod which when ripe breaks off and ejects the seeds.  The leaves differ from the other Crane'sbills as they are very much divided into narrow segments – five to seven in number.  It -is commonly found in bare or grassy places where it can grow to about 60cm high.  This plant flowers between May and September and is a native.

I first identified this plant in Roundwood, Co Wicklow in 1976 and photographed it in the Burren in 2004 

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

If you are a keen gardener, please note that this plant can be a quite persistent weed. 

Crane's-bill, Cut-leaved
Crane's-bill, Cut-leaved
Crane's-bill, Cut-leaved
Crane's-bill, Cut-leaved