Water avens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Water avens |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Geum
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| Species: |
rivale
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Water Avens (scientific name: Geum rivale) is a beautiful flowering plant. It belongs to the Geum family, which is part of the larger Rosaceae family (like roses!).
People also call it nodding avens, drooping avens, cure-all, water flower, and Indian chocolate. In North America, it's sometimes known as the purple avens. This plant grows naturally in cool, mild areas of Europe, Central Asia, and parts of North America. You can often find it in wet places like bogs and damp meadows. Its unique red flowers droop downwards and bloom from May to September.
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Where Water Avens Grows
Geum rivale is found across many parts of Europe, especially in the north and center. It grows all over the British Isles, the Faroes, Iceland, and Scandinavia. You can also see it in the Baltic States and much of Central Europe. It can even grow high up in mountains like the Alps!
This plant is not found in some areas like western France. In Italy and Spain, it grows in scattered mountain locations. It also lives in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula, the Caucasus, northern Anatolia, and parts of Iran. You can find it in northern Ukraine and across central and northern European Russia, reaching into Western Siberia and parts of Central Asia.
Geum rivale also grows naturally in a large area of Canada and the United States.
Where Water Avens Lives
Water Avens is a plant that lives for many years. It prefers soils that drain slowly or are often wet. It can grow in slightly acidic to chalky soils. It likes to be in full sun or a little bit of shade.
You can find it along stream banks, at the edges of ponds, in damp forests where trees lose their leaves, and in hay meadows.
In the UK, it's an important part of a special habitat called "purple moor grass and rush pastures." This habitat is part of a plan to protect different kinds of plants and animals. It grows in poorly drained soils in both lowlands and higher areas.
How Water Avens Lives and Grows
Water Avens flowers are mostly pollinated by bees. Sometimes, flies and beetles also help. As the flower gets older, its male parts (stamens) grow longer. This helps the plant to fertilize itself if no insects have brought pollen from another plant. The female parts (stigmas) of the flower become ready before the male parts. This helps to encourage cross-pollination first.
Water Avens starts flowering a little earlier than its close relative, Geum urbanum. This means that early pollination usually happens within the same species.
The seeds of Water Avens are a bit like burrs. They have tiny hooks that can stick to the fur of animals like rabbits and other small mammals. This helps the seeds travel to new places. The plant can also spread by growing new shoots from its roots (rhizomes).
Sometimes, Water Avens can get plant diseases. A type of powdery mildew called Podosphaera aphanis can grow on it. Yellow spots on the leaves might be caused by a downy mildew called Peronospora gei.
Water Avens Hybrids
Geum rivale often mixes with another plant called Geum urbanum. They are very closely related and often grow in the same places. When they mix, they create a new plant that has features from both parents.
In North America, Water Avens is also known to create hybrids with other Geum species. For example, it can mix with Geum aleppicum to form Geum × aurantiacum. It can also mix with different types of Geum macrophyllum to create Geum × pervale or Geum × pulchrum.
Images for kids
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Group of plants
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Flowers
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Pseudo-peloric flower
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Fruits
See also
In Spanish: Geum rivale para niños
