Geum
Encyclopedia
Geum ˈ, commonly called avens, is a genus
of about 50 species
of perennial
herbaceous plant
s in the rose family Rosaceae
, native to Europe
, Asia
, North
and South America
, Africa
and New Zealand
. They are closely related to Potentilla
and Fragaria
.
Geum species are used as food plants by the larva
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Grizzled Skipper
.
For a more detailed list see List of Geum species.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of about 50 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
herbaceous plant
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
s in the rose family Rosaceae
Rosaceae
Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
, native to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. They are closely related to Potentilla
Potentilla
Potentilla is the genus of typical cinquefoils, containing about 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the rose family Rosaceae. They are generally Holarctic in distribution, though some may even be found in montane biomes of the New Guinea Highlands...
and Fragaria
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
.
Geum species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Grizzled Skipper
Grizzled Skipper
The Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus malvae is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.-Appearance, behaviour and distribution:With its characteristic chequered black and white pattern this butterfly is quite distinctive although old, faded individuals can be mistaken for the Dingy Skipper or the Sideridis...
.
Species
- Geum aleppicumGeum aleppicumGeum aleppicum, Yellow Avens, is a flowering plant native to most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, from eastern Europe across Asia and North America....
- Yellow avens - Geum bulgaricumGeum bulgaricumGeum bulgaricum is a flowering plant species native to eastern Europe and has small, bell-like yellow blossoms....
- Geum calthifolium
- Geum canadenseGeum canadenseGeum canadense is a plant in the rose family, Rosaceae.-Description:Geum canadense is a herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, on green stems. The flowers are white, borne in spring....
- White avens - Geum × catlingii - Catlings avens
- Geum elatum
- Geum heterocarpum
- Geum japonicumGeum japonicumGeum japonicum is a yellow-flowering perennial native to North America and East Asia, especially Japan. It may be synonymous with Geum macrophyllum, the North American flower. As a traditional herbal remedy it is known as an astringent and used in poultices...
- Geum laciniatumGeum laciniatumGeum laciniatum is a member of the Rosaceae family. It is a perennial forb, native to eastern North America. -External links:*...
- Rough avens - Geum leiospermum
- Geum macrophyllumGeum macrophyllumGeum macrophyllum, commonly known as largeleaf avens, is a flowering plant found from the Arctic south to the northern U.S. states, and in the Rocky Mountains and west to the Sierra Nevada in California and as far south as Northwestern Mexico....
- Largeleaf avens - Geum molle
- Geum montanum - Alpine avens
- Geum parviflorum
- Geum peckii - Mountain avens
- Geum pentapetalum
- Geum pyrenaicum
- Geum quellyonGeum quellyonGeum quellyon, commonly called Scarlet avens. Chilean avens, or Grecian rose, is a perennial herb of the Rosaceae family, native to the Central Region of Chile....
- Scarlet avens, Chilean avens - Geum radiatumGeum radiatumGeum radiatum is a rare species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names spreading avens, Appalachian avens, and cliff avens. It is native to the region of the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the United States, where there are eleven populations remaining...
- Geum reptans - Creeping avens
- Geum rhodopeum
- Geum rivale - Water avens
- Geum rossiiGeum rossiiGeum rossii is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names Ross' avens and alpine avens. It is native to North America where its distribution spans northern Canada and the high mountains of the western United States. It grows at high-latitude and high-elevation...
- Alpine avens - Geum sikkimense
- Geum sylvaticum
- Geum triflorumGeum triflorumGeum triflorum, is a spring perennial herbaceous plant of North America from northern Canada to California and east to New York....
- Purple avens or Prairie smoke - Geum turbinatum
- Geum uniflorum
- Geum urbanum - Wood avens or Herb Bennet
- Geum vernum - Spring avens
- Geum virginianum - Cream avens or Virginia avens
For a more detailed list see List of Geum species.
External links
- Jepson Manual Treatment
- Ontario Wildflowers: Avenses Group
- USDA Plants Profile: North American Species
- EOL