Easily distinguished from E. cicutarium by taller habit, larger leaves with shallowly divided leaflets; Annual or biennial herb with ascending or decumbent stems up to 50 cm long; leaves pinnate compound, mostly in a basal rosette, up to 15 cm long; leaflets sparsely hairy, 11-15, shallowly divided with broader segments; sepals 6-9 mm long; petals 10-15 mm long, pink; mericarps 4-6 mm long, glandular with 2-4 cm long beak.
 
As per efi thread : Erodium cicutarium is easly separated from E. moschatum by its smaller leaves with deeply divided leaflets with narrow linear segments.
As per efi thread : Genus Geranium and Erodium are easily recognised by former having palmately lobed leaves and latter pinnate compound or pinnately lobed leaves. 
 
Providing the keys to species of Erodium occurring in India, as given by Malhotra (1997) in Flora of India vol-4 published by BSI. Hope it will help in determining ID.

  A. Beak of mericarps plumose on ventral face with long soft cilia…………………E.oxyrrhynchum

A’     A’. Beak of mericarps ventrally clothed with rigid setae that disappear towards tip

B. Leaves velvety beneath clothed with rigid setae that disappear towards tip.. E.tibetanum

B’. Leaves not velvety beneath, shortly pubescent, sepals awned or mucronate, mericarps pitted below      beak

                C. Sepals awned, filaments toothed on one side ……………………..E.stephanianum

                C’. Sepals mucronate, filaments glabrous, not toothed 

                                D. Apical pits of mericarp glandular ………………………….E.moschatum

                                D’. Apical pits of mericarps eglandular ………………………E.cicutarium

The species known from Uttarakhand are E.cicutarium and E.stephanianum.  

  

Erodium moschatum from California: As there seems to be some confusion between Geranium, I am uploading some to remove confusion.

Genus Geranium and Erodium are easily recognised by former having palmately lobed leaves and latter pinnate compound or pinnately lobed leaves. The fruits of two look similar, former having large range in flower size and latter usually smaller flowers.
Here is Erodium moschatum from California easily separated by its much larger leaves with shallowly lobed broader segments.
 

/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Erodum-moschatum-Sunnyvale-DSC09052-Califonia-1-4.jpg


/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Erodium-moschatum-Sunnyvale-DSC09038-California-2-8.jpg

 

/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Erodium-moschatum-Sunnyvale-DSC09043-California-3.jpg
/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Erodium-moschatum-Sunnyvale-DSC09046-California-5.jpg
/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Erodium-moschatum-Sunnyvale-DSC09045-Caliornia-4.jpg
Erodium moschatum (L.) Aiton, W. Aiton, Hort. kew. 2:414. 1789
Common names: round-needles; musk stork’s-bill
Easily distinguished from E. cicutarium by taller habit, larger leaves with shallowly divided leaflets; Annual or biennial herb with ascending or decumbent stems up to 50 cm long; leaves pinnate compound, mostly in a basal rosette, up to 15 cm long; leaflets sparsely hairy, 11-15, shallowly divided with broader segments; sepals 6-9 mm long; petals 10-15 mm long, pink; mericarps 4-6 mm long, glandular with 2-4 cm long beak.
Photographed in California, common in fields and wastelands.


  
 
 
References:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *