# Stork's-Bills (*erodium*)

Stork's-Bills are beautiful flowers that have delicate, pointed leaves and bright pink or purple petals. They often grow in sunny places and attract many butterflies and bees!

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger
- **Habitat:** Sunny meadows, gardens, and grasslands.
- **Also known as:** Erodium, Heron's Bill, Sandy Stork's-Bill

![Stork's-Bills](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Erodium_cicutarium03.jpg&width=800)

Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erodium_cicutarium03.jpg)

## Appearance

The Stork'S-Bills has delicate, often fern-like leaves and small, five-petaled flowers typically in shades of pink, purple, or white. Its most distinctive feature is the long, slender, beak-like fruit that resembles a stork's bill, which is different from other similar ground cover plants.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Geraniales
- **Family:** Geraniaceae
- **Genus:** Erodium

## Interesting facts

- Its name comes from the Greek word for "heron," because the fruit looks just like a bird's beak.
- Some tough Stork'S-Bills can sprout and grow even in cracks of pavement and dry, rocky soil!
- The long "bill" on its fruit can actually coil and uncoil, helping to bury seeds in the ground!
- These plants are actually cousins to the popular geranium flowers you might see in garden pots.

## Special abilities

- **Seed-Drilling Power:** Stork'S-Bills can drill its seeds into the soil using a clever, corkscrew-like tail on its seed pod, helping them plant themselves.
- **Survival Snack:** Stork'S-Bills has young leaves and stems that are edible, making it a valuable food source for animals and people.
- **Quick Growth:** Many Stork'S-Bills can germinate and grow very quickly, helping them thrive in disturbed or open ground.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 5-50 cm
- **Spread:** 10-60 cm
- **Flower Size:** 0.5-2 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Spring to fall
- **Edible:** Yes
- **Toxicity:** None
- **Lifecycle:** Annual
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Pollinates:** Honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Visits flowers for nectar
- **Pollinates:** Painted Lady butterfly (*Vanessa cardui*) — Feeds on flower nectar
- **Eats:** [Sheep](https://www.snappit.app/explore/sheep) (*Ovis aries*) — Graze on foliage

## Traits

- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Grassland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/grassland): Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals.
- [Herbivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/herbivorous): This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.
- [Diurnal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/diurnal): Diurnal animals are primarily active during daylight hours, typically resting or sleeping at night.
- [Pollinator](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator): Describes organisms that transfer pollen, enabling the fertilization and reproduction of plants.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger

No special safety notes yet.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Stork's-Bills?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is Stork's-Bills?

5-50 cm

### How wide does Stork's-Bills spread?

10-60 cm

### How big are the flowers on Stork's-Bills?

0.5-2 cm

### When does Stork's-Bills bloom?

Spring to fall

### Is Stork's-Bills edible?

Yes

### Is Stork's-Bills toxic?

None

### What is Stork's-Bills's lifecycle?

Annual

## Where to spot

- [Denny Blaine Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/denny-blaine-park) — Washington, US · Park

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Stork's-Bills: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/storks-bills)