Tiny, colorful wildflower/weed

Question

Does anybody know what this tiny wildflower is? It was just 1/4 of an inch across when fully open (about noon). It was fully closed by about 6 o'clock. It has the smaller, oddly shaped leaves, with the stronger veins. (The larger leaves that you are seeing are pachysandra.) It doesn't seem to be very invasive, since I've never seen one before.

This plant is in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. It is in a protected spot just around the west corner of my house, where it receives strong southern afternoon/evening sun.

The original flower here was living under a gutter downspout, and was decimated by a recent downpour. But, I did find the same thing growing nearby after my friend weed-wacked. The leaves and the stems look the same, with the furry edges. Also, I remember that the smaller leaves had an even shape, while the larger ones grew into an asymmetrical shape. Perhaps this pretty wildflower/weed is more common than I thought! I'm going to try and add the new leaf pictures (as requested), now.

Hi, welcome to the site. Could you tell us where abouts in the world this is. It helps a lot with identification. — AvieRose, May 19 '16 at 19:23
You beat me to that same comment Avie Rose! You've provided excellent details Diane, which are a great example of how to get help with identification! In addition to location, would you tell us if that pretty flower is in the sun or shade? Most of my pachysandra is in the shade, so I'm wondering if that's the case with this plant. Also, does the flower have a scent? You can just add the extra details into the question, so everything's in the same place. Thanks! — Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL, May 19 '16 at 19:37
Hi! Thank you for helping, AvieRose and Sue! I edited it up above. It is not blooming at the moment, so I don't know if it has a scent. I don't know that I would be able to tell, with all else that is blooming. Sue, good point about the pachysandra liking shade, but this patch actually (very slowly) spread into a sunny area. — Diane, May 19 '16 at 20:11
Can you get a better picture of the leaves? It's hard to see the shape from these pictures. — Swagin9, May 19 '16 at 21:37
Swagin9- Unfortunately, not at this time. Had flooding rain running off the roof that flattened the tiny plant. I will take pictures of the leaves as soon as it recovers. — Diane, May 19 '16 at 23:55
@Swagin9- I added leaf pictures, with more details, above. Thanks for your question. — Diane, May 20 '16 at 17:31
It looks like a wild geranium (Cranesbill) to me. :) Not sure of the species though. But the flower is not like any other Cranesbill I have seen. Hmmm. — Brenn, May 20 '16 at 17:32
@Brenn- I agree that the leaves do look similar, but not the flower. Perhaps a relative of the Cranesbill? (Unsuccessful searches in that genus so far.) — Diane, May 20 '16 at 17:46
Are the leaves growing off the thick, bristly/hairy stems I can see in the picture or are they separate? — Bamboo, May 20 '16 at 18:26
@Bamboo- They are definitely growing off of the bristly/hairy stems. (The one stem that was cut may look confusing, but it is the same, too.) — Diane, May 20 '16 at 18:39
@Brenn- The more I research Cranesbill/ Stork's Bill (as per your suggestion), the more I think that you that you are correct. I am stumped by the dark pink color of the flower petals, but all of the other characteristics are the same. Perhaps this type is so common that nobody ever bothered to post a picture of the tiny flower. Or, maybe one of my migratory birds plante http://www.eattheweeds.com/erodium-circutarium-geranium-carolinianum-two-bills-you-want-to-get-2/ — Diane, May 23 '16 at 05:58
@ Brenn- "Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile
IDENTIFICATION: Stork’s Bill: Hairy, sticky, sprawling, stems hairy with short white hair and have bright pink five-petaled flowers, in a loose cluster, they often have dark spots on their bases, leaves reddish green, pinnate, fern-like, arranged in two ranks, one on either side of the midrib, to four inches long, seed pod long, shaped a stork bill that bursts open into a spiral when ripe, seeds have little feathery parachutes. Usually ankle high, grows to 12 inches in warmer areas . MAKE SURE THE STEMS ARE HAIRY — Diane, May 23 '16 at 06:13
@Diane, that's great! I think you're on the right track. Do the flowers look much different when fully opened (or is the photo above fully opened)? It's possible that your specimen is a cross and therefore it's unlikely that we will ever find an exact match. But it really does look like a member of the Geranium genus. I'm pretty confident of that. — Brenn, May 23 '16 at 15:43
@Brenn- I think it is possible that the flower may have been more open before I noticed it. Unfortunately, I don't have any more flower buds to look at now. I have marked the spot where I found some more so that it won't get weed-wacked again. If it ever flowers again, I'll post more pictures. Also, I contacted the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, and if I get a response on the exact type, I'll let you know. But go ahead and post your response as an answer, and thank you very much for your help. Maybe it is a "crossover", as you suggest, and I have some new, cool variety of wildflower/weed! How fun! — Diane, May 23 '16 at 16:18
@ Brenn- I found it! Turns out it's not wild geranium, but I searched similar leaves and actually found it! — Diane, May 23 '16 at 19:17

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered May 23 '16 at 19:24

4

Wow! I found it! Thank you all for all of your helpful questions and suggestions, which led me to the answer.

Carolina Modiola, Carolina Bristle-mallow, Creeping Mallow, Red-flowered Mallow http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/340738/#b

answered May 23 '16 at 19:24

Diane

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@Brenn- I searched "creeping" wild geranium and found this look-alike. I gather that it is a non-native wildflower/weed, but it's pretty. So, I'm going to leave it alone and let it grow, for now. At least now I know what it is! – Diane May 23 '16 at 19:35

Tiny, colorful wildflower/weed

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