Geum canadense (White avens)

Geum canadense Jacq.

White avens

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Rosales	Rose family and eight others
Family	Rosaceae	Includes apples, apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, almonds, roses, meadowsweets, photinias, firethorns, rowans, and hawthorns; many others
Genus	Geum	An ancient Latin name used by Pliny for this group
Species	canadense	“From Canada”

About plant names...

White avens are North American native plants. They are members of the rose family.

Plants: 18-30" (45-76 cm) tall. Lower stems have coarse hairs and a brownish color, becoming softer-haired and lighter in color toward the top.

Leaves: Lobed, looking a bit like a rounded maple leaf, or sometimes split into three separate leaflets like strawberry leaves. The basal leaves are trifoliate. They have long stems (petioles), and they are toothed, with sharp or rounded teeth.

Flowers: White, with five rather sparse-looking, rounded petals appearing between a five-pointed green star of sepals. The sepals are shorter than the petals.

Fruits: Burlike in appearance, like a little ball of velcro, though if you take a close look, the tips of the achenes, though bent, are not hooked to hitch a ride the way burs are. The fruits are the most easily noticed features of this plant, perched atop long stems.

These are closely similar:

6/14/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 3 × 2½" (8.3 × 6.7 cm)

12/12/2020 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

6/26/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 7" (22 × 18 cm)

	You are here Geum canadense	*Geum laciniatum var. trichocarpum*
Common Name	white avens	rough avens
Plant	18-30" (45-76 cm) tall. Lower stems have coarse hairs and a brownish color, becoming softer-haired and lighter in color toward the top.	18-30" (45-76 cm) tall. Stems are light green and hairy, with hairs spreading outward.
Flowers	White, with five rather sparse-looking, rounded petals appearing between a five-pointed green star of sepals. The sepals are *shorter than the petals*.	White or cream-colored, oval to egg-shaped, about ½" (1.3 cm) around, in groups of 1-3, *on leafy racemes. There are five rounded petals, and between them, five sharp-tipped sepals that together resemble a star. The sepals are longer than the petals*. A large cluster of green carpels, looking a little like a writhing mass of tiny green inchworms, make up the center of the flower, with some yellowish anthers. Flowers appear from April to May.
Leaves	Lobed, looking a bit like a rounded maple leaf, or sometimes split into three separate leaflets like strawberry leaves. The basal leaves are trifoliate. They have long stems (petioles), and they are toothed, with sharp or rounded teeth.	Lower leaves are in groups of 3-5, while upper leaves have 1-3. Leaflets are simple (not further lobed), lanceolate or ovate, up to 3" (7.6 cm) × 2½" (6.3 cm). The odd leaflet in the center of the group is the largest. Leaf shape is highly variable. At the base where leaflets connect to the main stem are leafy stipules, like miniature leaflets.
Fruit	Burlike in appearance, like a little ball of velcro, though if you take a close look, the tips of the achenes, though bent, are not hooked to hitch a ride the way burs are. The fruits are the most easily noticed features of this plant, perched atop long stems.	Flowers are replaced with green velcro-like balls of achenes about ¾" (1.9 cm) in diameter.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Moist woods and thickets	Prefers partial sun and sandy or loamy moist soil, in thickets, meadows, and roadsides.
Type	Wild	Wild
Occurrence	Common	Common

Online References:

Geum canadense at Illinois Wildflowers

Geum canadense on Missouriplants.com

Geum canadense on

Geum canadense on CalPhotos

Geum canadense at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Geum canadense on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Geum canadense on spes.vt.edu

Geum canadense at Minnesota Wildflowers

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 302

7/7/2012 · Gibbet Hill, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 3½" (10 × 9.2 cm)

7/5/2010 · Tarrywile Park and Mansion, Danbury, Connecticut
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 8 cm)

6/22/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts

7/5/2010 · Tarrywile Park and Mansion, Danbury, Connecticut
≈ 12 × 17" (29 × 44 cm)

6/22/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts

7/8/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Ctr, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 4½" (15 × 11 cm)

7/7/2012 · Gibbet Hill, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 2½" (10 × 6.5 cm)

7/7/2012 · Gibbet Hill, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 3 × 3" (7.9 × 7.9 cm)

7/7/2012 · Gibbet Hill, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 4" (13 × 10 cm)

7/8/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Ctr, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 3½" (14 × 9.6 cm)

6/22/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts

6/26/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 5" (15 × 12 cm)

Geum canadense description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 5 Oct 2021.

6/14/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 9" (27 × 23 cm)

7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania
≈ 4½ × 4" (12 × 11 cm)

7/30/2016 · Huguenot Flatwater, James River Park System, Richmond, Virginia

7/8/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Ctr, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 3½ × 3" (9.6 × 7.5 cm)

7/24/2010 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 7" (21 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

6/22/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts

7/8/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Ctr, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 7" (15 × 18 cm)

6/26/2015 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 5" (11 × 13 cm)

6/14/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 6" (14 × 15 cm)

6/22/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Massachusetts

7/7/2012 · Gibbet Hill, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 3½ × 3½" (9.7 × 9.2 cm)

Range:

About this map...