Extremely low-growing downy annual or biennial, this wildflower is found on sandy ground and bare grassy places near the sea. The pink flowers (7-15mm across) have 5 unequal-sized unlobed petals which are often lost from the flower and 5 stamens. They are in heads of up to 10 and are strongly scented and bloom from May to September. The leaves are mostly basal, deeply pinnately divided, toothed and feathery. The seedpods give the plant its common name – the fruit is contained in a long 'beak' which splits into 5 on ripening. The seeds have a very clever system of anchoring themselves to the soil; being spirally twisted, they almost screw themselves into the turf. The hairy stems of the plant are tinged red. This is a native plant which belongs to the family Geraniaceae.
I first found this flower in 1979 at Killoughter, Co Wicklow and I took the photographs in the Burren in 2007.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
