Geranium robertianum Herb-Robert

A very common annual (or biennial) crane's-bill with fern-like leaves and red stems. The pink, un-notched flowers, which are present throughout much of the summer, are a valauble resource for lots of pollinators. It is very variable and some forms are rather small, sometimes prostrate and with pale pink flowers. White flowered forms have also been recorded. It is quite shade tolerant and often grows in woodland edge habitats, in hedgebanks, in verges, gardens, walls and other types of brickwork, coastal shingle and in urban waste places. Herb Robert contains lots of interesting phytochemicals which include tannins, phenolic acids, alkaloids, lectins and essential oils. Its strong smell, which is most evident when the leaves are crushed, comes from the volatile oils that are released from the abundant glandular hairs on its stems and leaves. It is ubiquitous in Britain and Ireland and one of the most common herbaceous species in West Glamorgan.

Native