Geum coccineum
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{For|the Chilean plant described as Geum coccineum by John Lindley in 1827|Geum quellyon}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Rosaceae - Geum coccineum.JPG
|image_caption = Flower of Geum coccineum at the Giardino Botanico Alpino Chanousia
|genus = Geum
|species = coccineum
|authority = Sibth. & Sm.
}}
Geum coccineum is a species of flowering plant in the genus Geum, in the rose family Rosaceae. Native to the mountains of the Balkans and northern Turkey, it is also grown ornamentally for its bright red flowers.
Nomenclature
In horticulture, it is also referred to as Geum borisii, but in the botanical literature following J. Kellerer & Sünd. this name is only used for the hybrid Geum bulgaricum × montanum. The name Geum coccineum is itself used in the gardening literature for another related plant: Geum chiloense {{small|Balbis.}}.{{cite web| title = Geum coccineum Lindl.| work = World Flora Online| url =http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0001002993| access-date = 18 December 2021}}
Description
Geum coccineum is herbaceous and perennial, growing to a height of 10–45{{nbsp}}cm. It blooms, with orange-red flowers, from May to August.May-July ({{harvnb|Peşmen|Chamberlain|1972}} for Turkey); May-August ({{harvnb|Asenov|1973}} for Bulgaria); mid-June to early August ({{harvnb|Persson|1986}} for Greece).
The species is hexaploid (with 2n=42), having six sets of chromosomes.
Distribution and habitat
The plant is found on wet, marshy meadows and along streams.{{harvnb|Asenov|1973}}, {{harvnb|Persson|1986}}. Damp forests also mentioned in {{harvtxt|Peşmen|Chamberlain|1972}}.
Within Turkey, the plant is found at elevations of 1200–2400{{nbsp}}m in a number of localities in the Pontic Mountains (including Karagöl in the province of Gümüşhane, Zigana in Trabzon, and Cimil in Rize), in the Erzurum area, in the Ilgaz Mountains of Kastamonu Province, {{ill|Murat Dağ|tr|Murat Dağı}} in Kütahya, and Uludağ (Bithynian Olympus) in the province of Bursa.{{cite book|last1=Peşmen| first1 = H.| last2 = Chamberlain| first2 = D.F.| chapter = Geum L.| editor-last = Davis| editor-first = P.H.| title = Flora of Turkey| volume = 4| year = 1972| publisher = Edinburgh University Press| isbn = 0852242085 | pages = 71–72}}
Geum coccineum grows in the mountains of Bulgaria (at elevations of 900–2300{{nbsp}}m in the western and central Balkan Mountains, on Vitosha, Verila, Sredna Gora, Osogovo, Rila, Pirin, Slavyanka, and the western and central Rhodopes),{{cite book| last = Asenov| first = I.| chapter = Omajniče – Geum L.| title = Flora na Narodna Republika Bǎlgarija|volume = V| year = 1973| editor-last1 = Vǎlev| editor-first1 = Stoju| editor-last2 = Asenov| editor-first2 = Ivan| place = Sofia| publisher = Bulgarian Academy of Sciences| language = Bulgarian| page = 198}} Serbia (the Balkan Mountains),{{cite book|last = Gajić| first = M.| chapter = Rod Geum L.| title = Flora SR Srbije| volume = 4| year = 1972| place = Beograd| publisher = Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti| language = Serbian| page = 76}} North Macedonia, and central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also present in the Accursed Mountains of Albania and Montenegro, {{cite book|last1 = Caković| first1 = Danka| last2 = Stešević| first2 = Danijela| title = Katalog vaskularne flore Crne Gore| volume = II| place = Podgorica| publisher = Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts| year = 2021| language = Montenegrin| isbn = 978-86-7215-488-7| url = https://canupub.me/9u7x| page = 159}} This only mentions Montenegro (Bogićevica + central and north-eastern Prokletije). Even though such a delimitation strongly suggests presence in Kosovo, this is not mentioned in {{harvtxt|Gajić|1972}}. From Atlas Florae Europaeae it is not clear if Kosovo is to be included, but the Albanian side of Prokletije falls visibly within the plant's native range. in the mountains of eastern Albania,{{cite book| last1 = Kurtto| first1 = Arto| last2 = Lampinen| first2 = Raino| last3 = Junikka| first3 = Leo| date = 2004| title = Atlas florae Europaeae, distribution of vascular plants in Europe. 13: Rosaceae (Spiraea to Fragaria, excl. Rubus)| publisher = Committee for mapping the flora of Europe and Societas Biologica Fennica| location = Helsinki| isbn = 978-951-9108-14-8|pages = 144–45}} and northern Greece (at 1300–2000{{nbsp}}m in northern Pindus and mountains of Greek Macedonia: Varnous, Vitsi, Pieria, Vermio, Piperitsa, Kajmakčalan and Tzena).{{cite book|last = Persson| first = J.| editor-last = Strid| editor-first = Arne| date = 1986| title = Mountain flora of Greece| chapter = Geum L.| pages = 404–5| publisher = Cambridge University Press| isbn = 978-0-521-25737-4}}
It is grown decoratively (with several cultivars), and as a garden escapee it has become naturalised in isolated areas of Slovenia and Saxony.