Herb Robert (geranium robertianum)

Herb robert, geranium robertianum, looking up into the light.

Herb robert, geranium robertianum

Herb robert, geranium robertianum, is a gift to natural photographers.  The flowers are small, brightly-coloured, neat and clean-cut.  They appear throughout most of the the year, from March to November.  They each last only a day, but are then replaced, so they always appear fresh.  The buds are equally attractive.  The fruiting heads are fascinating, with the famous sharp spike of the 'crane's bill', capable of propelling the ripened seeds several metres.  The plant itself is also neat, and the fern-like leaves are variegated, displaying all the colours between red and green.  The plants can be found in woodland, as here or in open ground.

To produce these images I waited until the evening, when the sun, low in the sky, was sending shafts of light through gaps in the canopy.  I then got down as low as I could and took shots up into the light.

Other recent images of herb robert can be found on my website at http://www.imagesofthecommons.com