Photographs: the Burren, Co. Clare

Bloody Cranes-bill Geranium sanguineum Crobh dearg Family: Geraniaceae Flowering time: July-August. Perennial. Native. Solitary purplish-pink flowers on hairy stems with un-notched petals and darker veins. A bushy or scrambling plant with long-stalked leaves that have 5-7 deeply cut lobes and turn reddish in the autumn. Most frequent on grassland, dunes and rocky ledges in the Burren, Co. Clare. Also grows on basic or calcareous soils in Co. Galway and on the east coast with scattered records from central Ireland. Occasionally found as a garden escape or discard.

Bloody Crane's-bill, Geranium sanguineum, Crobh dearg