The Dove's-foot Crane's-bill is known to us all. You will find it
flowering by the roadside from May to September.
The flowers are small and pink, sometimes almost purple. They have five
petals, each with a notch in the broad end and with many fine hairs near
the narrow end.
The flowers open flat, like a wheel, and you can see the green tips of
the sepals appearing between each of the pink petals, as you look down
into the flower.
After all the pink petals have fallen off, a thin green spike shoots up
in the middle of the sepals. These sepals no longer lie flat open, but
half closed, they form a green cup. The spike holds the seeds, and when
it is time for them to be scattered over the ground, five green threads
loosen themselves from the bottom of the spike and curl up nearly to the
top. At the end of each of these green threads there is a seed, and very
soon the green threads crack and the seeds fall to the ground.
The leaves of the Dove's-foot Crane's-bill are very soft and downy. They
are round in shape and are covered with fine hairs. Each leaf is divided
into seven parts, which are toothed round the edges.
This plant has a weak stem, which lies near the ground. It is tinged
with pink, and is very hairy.