Geum aleppicum Jacq.

Yellow Avens

© SRTurner

Family - Rosaceae

Habit - Perennial forb.

Stems - Ascending to erect, to 1.2 m, sparsely to moderately hairy, usually unbranched below the inflorescence.

	Stem and node with stipule and leaf petiole.
© SRTurner

Leaves - Basal and alternate. Stem leaves well developed. Basal leaves 10-35 cm, the blades irregularly pinnate, with 5-9 major leaflets alternating with 4-6 minor ones. Stem leaves 4-19 cm, the blades pinnate or 3-foliate. Stipules leafy, free and conspicuous, the margins bluntly toothed.

	Lower stem leaf.
© SRTurner

	Leaf blade.
© SRTurner

	Leaf abaxial.
© SRTurner

	Leaf abaxial surface.
© SRTurner

Inflorescence - Open cymes with 3-7 flowers. Flower stalks hair but not glandular.

	Inflorescence. Note the fading color of the older lower flower.
© SRTurner

	Inflorescence.
© SRTurner

Flowers - Sepals 5, 4-8 mm, triangular-ovate, soon becoming reflexed. Bractlets 5, 2.0-3.5 mm, positioned between the sepals, spreading. Hypanthium saucer-shaped to cup-shaped, 2-6 mm. Petals 5, bright yellow, broadly ovate or obovate to nearly circular, 5-9 mm, equal to or slightly longer than sepals, the apex rounded or occasionally irregularly notched. Stamens numerous, shorter than petals. Carpels numerous. Styles jointed and kinked at the tips, the tips hairy. Ovule 1.

	Flower and calyx.
© SRTurner

	Bractlets.
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	Corolla.
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Fruits - Achenes borne in hemispheric or ovoid clusters. Fruit cluster stalks 2-3 mm, densely downy with soft hairs 0.3-0.7 mm. Fruiting styles jointed, the proximal segment 3-6 mm, with bristles on basal 1/3, not glandular, the distal segment deciduous, 1-2 mm, pilose in basal half with hairs much longer than the diameter of style.

	Fruit cluster.
© SRTurner

	Individual fruits and jointed styles.
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Flowering - Summer.

Habitat - Meadows, streambanks, alluvial thickets, swamps, marshes, forest clearings, ditches, roadsides, wet habitats.

Origin - Native to the U.S.

Lookalikes - Species of Potentilla such as P. norvegica.

Other info. - Although mentioned in Yatskievych's Flora of Missouri, this species has not yet been officially documented from Missouri. However, its range, which extends across the northern half of the continental U.S., approaches very close to Missouri's northern and eastern borders. It is entirely possible that the species will eventually be found in the state. It is unambiguously recognized by the combination of jointed styles, which are unique to the Geum genus, and bright yellow petals. Note that the flower color fades on drying. Accordingly, voucher specimens should be notated with the color of fresh flowers, as the color in pressed specimens is unreliable.

Photographs taken in Fremont, Newaygo County, MI, 7-2-2014 and 7-6-2022 (SRTurner).