Shiny Geranium (a.k.a. Shining Geranium, Shining Crane's Bill)
Geranium lucidum 

Shiny geranium, also called shining crane's bill,  is a low-growing annual Eurasian plant that has escaped from gardens into wildlands, particularly in Oregon's Willamette Valley, as well as a few locations in Washington State and California.  It resembles other weedy geraniums such as herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) and dovefoot (Geranium molle), and can quickly spread and overwhelm open to semi-open habitats.

Shiny geranium is a Class A Noxious Weed in Washington State due to its limited distribution in the state and the potential for significant impact to state resources. Public and private landowners are required to control this plant when it occurs on their land. Because of the difficulty in distinguishing this plant from more widespread weeds, we recommend contacting the noxious weed program for a positive identification before removing.  There are currently no records of this plant in King County. If you do find shiny geranium in King County, please contact us right away.

Identification (see below for more photos)

• Low-growing annual with small, pink, 5-petaled flowers that grow in pairs on little stems
• Leaves are shiny (especially later in the season), round to kidney-shaped with 5-7 lobes (that are themselves shallowly lobed)
• Sepals (around the base of the flower) are keeled (stick out) with noticeable cross-ribs
• Stems are reddish and not hairy, up to 20 inches tall
• Bloom time is spring to late July
• Resembles the common yard weed called dovefoot geranium (Geranium molle) but dovefoot's petals are deeply notched (looks like the flowers have ten petals instead of five), the plant is more fuzzy and the stems are less red

Habitat and Impact

In the Pacific Northwest, shiny geranium is most abundant in oak woodlands and open grasslands in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, but is also found in other areas such as the Portland area, northern California, Bayview State Park in Skagit County, Washington and in southwest Washington.  It is usually found in well-shaded woodlands and in forest openings.  It is sometimes found growing with its close cousin herb Robert, but seems to be more limited by shade than herb Robert.  Although shiny geranium does well in disturbed sites such as roadsides, it can also invade into and overwhelm high quality native habitat, both in forests and open grasslands.

Growth and Reproduction

Shiny geranium reproduces by seed and is pollinated by insects.  The seeds form in capsules with a long pointy "beak" that gives the plant one of it's common names crane's bill.  Seeds are forcefully ejected when ripe, helping it spread up as well as out from parent plants.  This is probably why this plant can be found in crevices of tree trunks or spreading up hillsides.  This plant can sometimes last two years but is most often an annual.  Flowering is from April-May to July and seeds mature and spread usually from late June to early July.  Germination is in late summer to early fall.

Control

Prevention:  Seeds of shiny geranium can be carried on shoes and vehicles, so special care should be taken to clean off after entering areas infested with this plant.  Watch for new patches of this plant during bloom time (from April to July).

Small patches:  Plants can be hand-pulled or dug out before they are in seed.

Larger patches:  Plants can be sprayed before flowering (late March through April) with either a broadleaf herbicide (if growing with desireable grasses) such as triclopyr (e.g. Brush B Gon) or with a non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate (e.g. Roundup).  Please refer to herbicice labels for site specific control information and refer to the PNW Weed Management Handbook for additional information on herbicide use.  Alternatives to spraying for large sites include burning with a propane-based burning tool several times each growing season (if burning is allowed in your location) or covering with sheet mulch for at least one or two growing seasons (although this method has not been tested on shiny geranium).  Follow up for several years is necessary to ensure successful eradication and depletion of the seed bank.

Shiny Geranium (Geranium lucidum) Photos - click thumbnail for larger image 

Photos on this page courtesy of Ben Legler and Bruce Newhouse.  Please do not use these images without permission from the photographers.