How do you recognise Bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum)?

Leaf

Paul Fabre, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Bloody cranesbill

Geranium sanguineum L.

Family: Geraniaceae

20 to 40 cm tall

Banks, rock gardens, edgings, free-draining soils

Flowering: May – August

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its finely cut foliage turns a superb bright red in autumn. Herb Robert is smaller, with an often reddish stem, three-lobed leaves and an unpleasant smell when crushed, whereas bloody cranesbill has large, solitary bright pink flowers and leaves deeply cut into fine strips.

🍃 Leaves

Deeply cut into fine strips, bright green, turning red in autumn

🌸 Flowers

Large flowers with 5 bright magenta-pink petals

🍎 Fruits

Small fruits shaped like an elongated beak

🪵 Bark

Low, dense, spreading clump

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, western Asia; found on dry banks, chalk grassland and rock gardens in France.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Bright pink nectar-bearing flowers visited by bees and bumblebees in summer.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Rock gardens, edgings, dry borders; foliage taking on fine red tints in autumn.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Bloody cranesbill

Geranium sanguineum

Herb Robert

Geranium robertianum

Herb Robert is smaller, with an often reddish stem, three-lobed leaves and an unpleasant smell when crushed, whereas bloody cranesbill has large, solitary bright pink flowers and leaves deeply cut into fine strips.

🌿 Other Geraniaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.