Family: Rosaceae
white avens
[Geum canadense var. camporum Jacq.]
Kitty Kohout
Merel R. Black
University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)
Etymology: Geum: an ancient Latin name used by Pliny for this group
Plants: erect, perennial, 16"-36" tall forb with slender stems
Leaves: mostly 3-parted to undivided, toothed; long-stalked basal leaves with the end and side segments mostly alike
Flowers: white, 5-parted, 1/2" wide, spreading petals nearly as long or longer than the sepals; inflorescence of erect flowers on long stalks in a branched cluster (corymb); blooms May-June
Fruits: hooked, dry seeds in a roundish cluster
Habitat: dry to moist; woods, disturbed sites
Conservation Status: Native
Plants: erect, perennial, 16"-36" tall forb with slender stems
Leaves: mostly 3-parted to undivided, toothed; long-stalked basal leaves with the end and side segments mostly alike
Flowers: white, 5-parted, 1/2" wide, spreading petals nearly as long or longer than the sepals; inflorescence of erect flowers on long stalks in a branched cluster (corymb); blooms May-June
Fruits: hooked, dry seeds in a roundish cluster
Habitat: dry to moist; woods, disturbed sites
Conservation Status: Native
Forests (especially along trails, in clearings, or on edges) of oak, oak-pine, aspen-oak-spruce, sugar maple-basswood, elm, oak-hickory, maple-walnut-hackberry, oak-maple, white cedar, sugar maple-beech, oak-red maple-hemlock. Swamps of black ash-red maple-elm, black ash-white cedar-balsam fir, tamarack, white cedar; floodplain forests of silver maple-swamp white oak, willow-green ash-box elder, silver maple-green ash-river birch, silver maple-hackberry-river birch-green ash, elm-silver maple-box elder-bur oak-cottonwood. Also in fields, mesic prairies, along roadsides and railroads, old quarries, vacant lots and other weedy areas, wet cliffs, rock ledges, pine relicts, thickets, rarely in sedge meadows or open wetlands. This is our weediest species of avens, often forming thick patches along trails where its achenes can easily snag on hikers’ clothes. This species is common throughout the southern half of the state and scattered but increasing northward. See G. aleppicum and G. urbanum for information about hybrids with this species.
- petals white, as long or longer than sepals
- small bractlets present between sepals
- receptacle pilose, beaks eglndular
- pedicel puberulent,, but usually without any long hairs
- leaves tending to be trifoliate
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 2, Wetland Indicator = FAC USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Images of seeds, fruits, embryos, etc. David G. Smith's "Delaware Wilflowers": Beautiful photographs; descriptions Dan Tenaglia's The Missouri Flora: Fabulous photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leave arrangement key. Illinois Wildflowers: Wonderful photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leaf arrangement key
Merel R. Black
Robert H. Read
Stephen L. Solheim
Derek Anderson
Theodore S. Cochrane
