Geranium lucidum | shining cranesbill
Wild geranium for mossy walls and soils in damper climates
When we first moved to our garden in West Yorkshire back in 2021 I spotted the familiar pink flower of what I initially thought was Herb Robert, then quickly realised its leaves were completely different. Glossy with a reflective sheen and rounded, the segments cut just beyond halfway. Those shiny leaves are where Shining Cranesbill, Geranium lucidum, gets its name and is the distinguishing feature between it and round-leaved cranesbill.
Max size: 40cm high, 40cm wide
Origin: Europe to India, northern Africa, Madeira
Life: annual or biennial
Geranium lucidum is not edible like some other wild geraniums. Though like the others, it is used by all manner of insects from moths and butterflies, to hoverflies and beetles.
Around our house Geranium lucidum grows out of the loam-clay soil directly as well as from cracks in the mossy drystone walls. It seems perfectly happy in either conditio…
