Carolina Crane's-bill
Geranium carolinianum
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in fields, roadsides, lawns, pastures, gardens, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- Spring and summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 62 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · 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
15BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Geranium
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
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
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
Flies 1
- Phorantha purpurascens
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other wasps 1
- Leionotus illinoensis
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Adult butterflies / moths · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Geraniaceae
- Soil pH
- Neutral to alkaline
- Flower color
- Pink or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring and summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Flower color · “Pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Height · “1–2 feet” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Soil · “Good drainage; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, Tennessee Smart Yards differ)
- Soil pH · “Neutral to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Carolina Crane's bill; Carolina Cranes Bill
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds freely. Spreads readily by re-seeding. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- 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
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications