Bloody Cranesbill is a small, spreading perennial. The flowers are large and of a brilliant crimson purple, very occasionally pink or white; the petals are slightly notched. The leaves are deeply cut.
This is one of the most beautiful of wild Geraniums and looks especially dazzling in late May when it flowers among Gentians and Mountain Avens. A good place to see this is the Burren in west Clare.
It grows on limestone in west Clare, the Aran Islands, by Lough Corriand in Donegal, also in County Dublin on cliffs at Howth and Killiney.
Flowering time is from May to August.
Bloody Cranesbill grows, but rather rarely, over most of Britain except for the south-east. It is found in Europe from Scandinavia east to the Urals and the Caucasus.