LITTLE ROBIN
Geranium purpureum
Crane's-bill (Geranium) Family [Geraniaceae] 
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Crane's-bill (Geranium) Family [Geraniaceae]
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status
flower
deep pinkinner
morph
petals
stem
smell
strongrarity
sex
| 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
| Little Robin is a rare [RR] and mostly grows near the sea on the south coast of Englasnd and Ireland, with just a smattering of scattered locations inland as far north as Leeds but then only on the East side. |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
| It is a low-growing straggly plant. This specimen has gone to seed. |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
| The petals are pink (the white one is over-exposed). |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
| This specimen is bright red on many parts, especially on the stems and the fruits. |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
| The fruits (centre-stage) are more conspicuously ridged than those of the otherwise very similar taller and larger-flowered Herb-Robert. |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
| A one penny coin for size comparison (they were 20.3mm across). They were issued from 15th Feb 1971 until Sept 2002 and contained 97% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin. |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
The fruits of Little Robert are just like those of many other Crane's-bills- they have a long protruding beak-like object with a short style protruding at the tip. Lower down, the bulbous 'body' is in 5 sections which are covered in glandular hairs of various lengths. |
| 19th May 2008, place unknown. | Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw |
| The 5 petals are reddish-pink with yellow anthers in the centre (on Herb-Robert the anthers are orange or purple). |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
| Yellow anthers in centre of flower. |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
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The 5-lobed style in the centre is a slightly differently shade of pink than the petals. They are supposed to have 10 yellow anthers on white filaments, but here at least one anther one is missing.
The hairs on the sepals are of various lengths and have a tiny gland at the tip. |
| Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw | 19th May 2008, place unknown. |
| The petals are between 5 to 9mm long and with nicely rounded terminations (whereas those of the larger very similar Herb-Robert are 8 to 14mm long). The anthers are yellow (whereas on Herb-Robert they are orange or purple [but pale yellow on white albino versions of Herb-Robert]). |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 18th June 2012, causeway, road, Isle of Purbeck. |
| The leaves are more narrowly cut than those of Herb-Robert. |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 18th June 2012, causeway, road, Isle of Purbeck. |
| The straight scarlet-red objects to be found on this image (and others) are the stems and branches of Little Robin. |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
| The leaves are more narrowly-cut than those of Herb-Robert |
| Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone | 27th June 2015, dunes, causeway, Isle of Purbeck. |
| The leaves are more narrowly-cut than those of Herb-Robert |
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Easily confused with : Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum) Easily mistaken for : The coastal subspecies of Herb-Robert which is called (Geranium robertianum ssp. maritimum) Hybridizes with : Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum) to produce:
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 Geranium
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purpureum
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⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Geraniaceae
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 Geranium () |
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Crane's-bill (Geranium) Family [Geraniaceae]
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BSBI maps