Geranium sessiliflorum

Native to western and central Peru southward through the Andes into southern South America, this perennial herb forms low clumps with very short aerial stems. A deep root and stout rootstock support rounded to kidney-shaped, hairy leaves on long stalks. The leaves have five to seven deep divisions, each divided into smaller lobes. Solitary flowers sit close to the foliage on short stalks. Hairy fruits separate into segments with coiling appendages. The species grows in sandy ground, wet mountain meadows and sunny slopes. Photographed in Peru.