Erodium cygnorum is a species of herb native to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

It is commonly known as Blue Heronsbill in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, and Blue Storksbill in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where the species is cultivated as a garden plant, it is commonly known as Australian Storksbill and Australian filaree.

Description

It grows as an annual or perennial herb up to 60 centimetres high, with blue, purple or pink flowers.

Taxonomy

This species was published in 1845, based on a specimen collected from the vicinity of Perth, Western Australia

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 by Ludwig Preiss

Ludwig Preiss

Johann August Ludwig Preiss was a German-born British botanist and zoologist.Preiss was born in Herzberg am Harz, Germany. He obtained a doctorate, probably at Hamburg, then emigrated to Western Australia...

 in 1839. In 1958, Roger Charles Carolin published a subspecies, Erodium cygnorum subsp. glandulosum, but this has since been promoted to species rank as E. carolinianum. No infraspecific taxa of E. cygnorum are currently recognised.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to Australia, occurring in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 and the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

. The National Herbarium of New South Wales lists E. cygnorum as also occurring in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, but they further identify their specimens as E. cygnorum subsp. glandulosum; that is, E. carolinianum.

It favours red sand or clay loam, occurring in low-lying flats, along creeklines and on the margins of salt lakes.