Herb Robert

Geranium robertianum

Found in rocky woodlands, especially over calcareous rocks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Height: Up to about 2 feet
Soil moisture: Somewhat dry to average

Geranium robertianum — flower photograph — (c) Gilles San Martin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Annual

Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 1 Alabama county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Habitats

Forests and woodlands.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 92 animals.

Acadian Flycatcher
Empidonax virescens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Birds. 1 shared habitat
American Goldfinch
Carduelis tristis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Barred Owl
Strix varia
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Belted Kingfisher
Megaceryle alcyon
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Black-and-White Warbler
Mniotilta varia
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Black-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus erythropthalmus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Black-throated Green Warbler
Dendroica virens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blackburnian Warbler
Dendroica fusca
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blue Grosbeak
Passerina caerulea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Polioptila caerulea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blue-winged Warbler
Vermivora pinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Brown Creeper
Certhia americana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Brown Thrasher
Toxostoma rufum
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Carolina Chickadee
Poecile carolinensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Carolina Wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Geranium

Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
Argyrotaenia ivanaIvana Leafroller Moth
Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
Condica sutorThe Cobbler, Cobbler Groundling
Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth

Show all 23

Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Geranium

Andrena distans

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

11BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Geranium

Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow

Show all 11

Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Geraniaceae
Flower color: Pink or purple

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Flower color · “Pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 2 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNA
Global rank	G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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