Geum laciniatum Murray
Rough avens
Rough avens is a North American native plant.
Plants: 1½–2½′ (45–76 cm) tall. Stems are light green and hairy, with hairs spreading outward.
Leaves: Lower leaves are in groups of 3-5, while upper leaves have 1-3. Leaflets are simple (not further lobed), lanceolate or ovate, up to 3 ⨉ 2½″ (7.6 ⨉ 6.3 cm). The odd leaflet in the center of the group is the largest. Leaf shape is highly variable. At the base where leaflets connect to the main stem are leafy stipules, like miniature leaflets.
Flowers: White or cream-colored, oval to egg-shaped, about ½″ (1.3 cm) around, in groups of 1-3, on leafy racemes. There are five rounded petals, and between them, five sharp-tipped sepals that together resemble a star. The sepals are longer than the petals. A large cluster of green carpels, looking a little like a writhing mass of tiny green inchworms, make up the center of the flower, with some yellowish anthers. Flowers appear from April to May.
Habitats: Partial sun and sandy or loamy moist soil, in thickets, meadows, and roadsides.
Fruits: Flowers are replaced with green velcro-like balls of achenes about ¾″ (1.9 cm) in diameter.
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Similar species. |
Online References:
References:
Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 302
6/4/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm) 
6/27/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts 
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
6/19/2024 · Red Rose Preserve, Bowdoinham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 5″ (12 × 13 cm) 
6/27/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts 
6/4/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 3 × 3″ (7.9 × 8.5 cm) 
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 3″ (9.6 × 8.4 cm) ID is uncertain 
6/27/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts 
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain 
7/15/2012 · Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Rosales | Rose family and eight others |
| Family | Rosaceae | Includes apples, apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, almonds, roses, meadowsweets, photinias, firethorns, rowans, and hawthorns; many others |
| Genus | Geum | An ancient Latin name used by Pliny for this group |
| Species | laciniatum | From Latin lacinia, ”flap“ or ”fringe,“ meaning here ”deeply slashed into sleder segments“ |
Geum laciniatum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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