Cut-Leafed Cranesbill, Cutleaf geranium
Geranium dissectum
Family: Geraniaceae
What it is like
Geranium dissectum is a ANNUAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.6
Where it is found
Cultivated and waste ground, grassland, hedgebanks etc to 375m.
Most of Europe, including Britain, south to N. Africa and east to Iran.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
Root - cooked. A famine food, used when all else fails.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The whole plant, but especially the roots, is rich in tannin. It is antiseptic, highly astringent, styptic and tonic. An infusion of the whole plant, or of the roots alone, is used in the treatment of diarrhoea (especially for children and the elderly), dysentery, cholera, gastro-enteritis, internal bleeding, excessive menstruation etc. Externally, it is used in the treatment of purulent wounds, haemorrhoids, thrush, vaginal discharges, inflammations of the mouth etc. It is best to harvest the roots as the plant comes into flower since they are then at their most active medicinally. The leaves should be harvested before the plant sets seed. Both are dried for later use.
Antiseptic: Preventing sepsis, decay or putrefaction, it destroys or arrests the growth of micro-organisms.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Cholera: Used in the treatment of cholera - an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Styptic: An astringent that stops bleeding by contracting the blood vessels.
Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.
Other
Rating: 2
A brown dye is obtained from the dry flowers. The leaves and roots are rich in tannin.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.
How it is grown
Succeeds in any moderately fertile retentive soil in a sunny position. Tolerates a range of soil types. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits.
Propagating it: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Best place to grow: Meadow; Hedgerow;
Habit: Annual
Hardiness: 6-9
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist