Wild Oregon Geranium

Got swollen feet? Well, our indigenous residents used a poultice from the Oregon Geranium (Geranium oreganum) for relief! The guidebooks say it prefers growing in open prairies and oak woodlands west of the Cascades from sea level to higher elevations in Southern Oregon and California. Native Americans also ate the leaves and used the boiled roots as an astringent. We spotted this uncommon, colorful, native plant blooming yesterday at the Cooper Mountain nature park, near the pond at the bottom of the loop trail. The blooms are about the size of a silver dollar. The leaves look very "salad worthy." (6/04/2013)

As a side note, the Dovefoot Geranium (Geranium molle) also grows in Oregon, is much more common but is not native to the area.