Importance

Common in many habitats - increasingly in arable land. Dove's foot Crane's-bill (G. molle) is a very similar species which, like the cut-leaved variety, occurs widely across the British Isles. In dove's foot, the first and subsequent true leaves are not as deeply dissected as in cut-leaved.

1. Asymmetric cotyledons

2. Long stems with conspicuous hairs and palmate leaves (like a sycamore tree).

3. Mature plant showing the deeply divided leaves

4. Small pinkish-violet flowers with deeply incised petals © Alamy Ltd