《中国植物志》|| 牻牛儿苗科 GERANIACEAE ||牻牛儿苗科 GERANIACEAE ||牻牛儿苗属 Erodium L Her.

1. 牻牛儿苗属 Erodium L' Her.
L' Her. in Aiton, Hort. Kew. 2: 414. 1789.——Geranium L. Sp. Pl. ed. 1. 676. 1753. p. p.
草本，稀为亚灌木状。茎分枝或无茎，常具膨大的节。叶对生或互生，羽状分裂；托 叶淡棕色干膜质。总花梗腋生，通常伞形花序，稀仅具2花；花对称或稍不对称；萼片5，覆瓦状排列，边缘常膜质；花瓣5，覆瓦状排列；蜜腺5，与花瓣互生；雄蕊10，2轮，外轮无药，与花瓣对生，内轮具药，与花瓣互生，花丝中部以下扩展，基部稍合生；子房5裂，5室，每室具2胚珠，花柱5。蒴果5室，具5果瓣，每果瓣具1种子，蒴果成熟时由基部向顶端螺旋状卷曲或扭曲，果瓣内面具长糙毛；种子无胚乳。
本属后选模式种：Erodium crassifolium Solander ex W. Aiton。
本属约90种，主要分布于欧亚温带、地中海地区、非洲、澳大利亚和南美。我国已知有4种，为典型的温带分布，主要分布于长江中下游以北的东北、华北、西北、四川西北和西藏等地。
Erodium 意为鹭，原为希腊字，为L' Heriter引用于此，意指其果实喙如鹭之嘴。

《Flora of China》|| Geraniaceae || ||牻牛儿苗属 Erodium

2. Erodium L’Héritier ex Aiton, Hort. Kew. 2: 414. 1789.

牻牛儿苗属 mang niu er miao shu

Herbs, annual, biennial, or perennial. Leaves simple, petiolate; leaf blade usually pinnately divided, sometimes entire; basal leaves usually forming a rosette; cauline leaves opposite or alternate. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, cymose, bracteate. Flowers usually in pseudoumbels, actinomorphic, rarely somewhat zygomorphic. Sepals 5, imbricate, apex obtuse to caudate. Petals 5, distinct. Stamens 5, alternating with 5 staminodes. Nectaries 5, alternate with petals. Ovary 5-locular, with 2 superposed ovules per locule; style distinctly 5-cleft. Fruit a schizocarp, long beaked, splitting into 5 1-seeded mericarps with a spirally twisted and trichome-covered awn.

About 75 species: N Africa, temperate Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America; four species in China.

The European species Erodium moschatum (Linnaeus) L’Héritier has been reported as naturalized in Taiwan (J. C. Ou & M. T. Kao, Taiwania 38: 19. 1993), but no specimens from Taiwan have been seen by the authors.