Erodium moschatum (L.) L'Hér., Geraniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Geranium cicutarium var. moschatum L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: crowfoot, musk stork's-bill, musk-clover, muskus-grass, musky crowfoot, musky storksbill, white-stem filaree

Spanish: alfilerillo

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual, at first stemless, later usually with several stems, extremely variable in size according to habitat, from prostrate to c. 60 cm high and c. 1 m across, densely glandular and ± musk-scented. Leaves to c. 30 cm long, pinnate, with petiole sometimes = leaf rachis. Leaflets sessile, pinnately lobed; lobes ± ovate, serrate. Stipules broad-ovate or suborbicular, membranous, silvery, obtuse. Umbels c. 12-flowered; bracts broad, membranous, obtuse; peduncles and pedicels densely glandular, < to slightly > calyx at anthesis. Sepals 4.5-6 mm long, lanceolate-oblong, densely glandular, mucronate. Petals 4.5-8 mm long, pink or mauve-pink; claw very short; limb ± elliptic-oblong, sometimes almost obovate. Stamens 3-4 mm long; filaments widened at base, white or pink, usually with a small membranous tooth on 1 or both sides, rarely without teeth; anthers dark purple. Staminodes lanceolate. Fruit beak 3-3.5 cm long, puberulent. Mericarps densely hirsute with hairs of differing length; apical pits prominently glandular, with 1 broad, glabrous furrow beneath"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 725).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand, "roadsides, railways, waste places, building sites, quarries, riverbeds, lawns and pastures, and cultivated ground; lowlands throughout, common"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 725).  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions:  Low altitude, interior valleys; coastal mountains, 500-2000 m; coastal areas, 0-500 m. Humid areas, with almost constant rainfall, short dry periods are possible (generally not longer than 1 month); somewhat dry areas where the drought may last 3-5 months, precipitations of 400-800 mm. are concentrated in winter. Fully exposed to the sun, level areas or slopes facing north"  (Chileflora).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Canary and Madeira Islands, northern Africa, Europe, western Asia; widely naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) "An occasional weed". Vouchers cited: R.M. Laing(CHR); I. Robinson (NSW); J.D. McComish 198 (NSW)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 553)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2011) "Widely naturalized in disturbed sites".
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Belov, Michail (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 185)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 725)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Photos and other information from Chileflora.

Additional online information about Erodium moschatum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Erodium moschatum as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Erodium moschatum may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

National Herbarium of New South Wales. 2011. PlantNet: New South Wales Flora online. The Plant Information Network System of the Botanic Gardens Trust Version 2.0. Online resource.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.