Family: Rosaceae
yellow avens
[Geum aleppicum subsp. strictum Jacq., more...]
Merel R. Black
Merel R. Black
University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)
Etymology: Geum: an ancient Latin name used by Pliny for this group
Plants: erect, perennial, 20"-40" tall forb; stems stout and very hairy
Leaves: pinnately-divided, 3-parted, or undivided; toothed, end and side segments of basal leaves mostly alike
Flowers: yellow, 5-parted, 1/2" wide, spreading petals only slightly longer than the sepals; inflorescence of erect flowers on long stalks; blooms May-July
Fruits: about 200 or more hooked, dry seed
Habitat: wet; meadows, woods, forests, swamps
Conservation Status: Native
Plants: erect, perennial, 20"-40" tall forb; stems stout and very hairy
Leaves: pinnately-divided, 3-parted, or undivided; toothed, end and side segments of basal leaves mostly alike
Flowers: yellow, 5-parted, 1/2" wide, spreading petals only slightly longer than the sepals; inflorescence of erect flowers on long stalks; blooms May-July
Fruits: about 200 or more hooked, dry seed
Habitat: wet; meadows, woods, forests, swamps
Conservation Status: Native
Forests of aspen, maple-birch, sugar maple-hemlock, sugar maple-basswood, oak, oak-maple, sugar maple-beech, white cedar-yellow birch, balsam fir-birch-spruce-black ash, aspen-rock elm-pine-spruce, maple-hickory-ash, aspen-elm-birch-red maple, white pine-maple, sugar maple-hemlock-ash; swamps of white cedar or black ash. Also in sedge meadows and marshes, along streams, in meadows, on lakeshores and beaches, alder thickets, riverbanks, in clearings and along trails, fields, thickets, clay bluffs, rock outcrops, bracken grassland, along roadsides and railroads, ditches, prairies, cliffs and bluffs, calcareous springs. This is our second-most common forest species, found throughout the state but absent from some western portions; it tends to grow in less disturbed forests than G. canadense. Geum aleppicum can hybridize with G. canadense to form G. ×hainesianum M. Hough, A.V. Gilman, & Chapm.-Lam but such hybrids seem rare in the state. They resemble G. aleppicum but with fewer achenes (most are sterile) and an intermediate petal color. See Hough et. al (2021) for further details on this hybrid and others.
- petals yellow, equaling or usually exceeding sepals
- beaks with long hairs at the base
- achenes > 150 per head
- pedicels with some long hairs over short pubescence
- receptacle pilose
- cauline leaves pinnately compound (often including very small leaflets)
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 3, Wetland Indicator = FAC+ Atlas of the Wisconsin Prairie and Savanna Flora: by T.S. Cochrane & H.H. Iltis: habitat, distribution infomation / flowering and fruiting times USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Images of seeds, fruits, embryos, etc.
Merel R. Black
Merel R. Black
Robert Bierman
Derek Anderson
Derek Anderson
Robert W. Freckmann
