 They are perennials, annuals, or subshrubs, with five-petalled flowers in shades of white, pink, and purple, that strongly resemble the better-known "Geranium" (cranesbill).Cultivated plants are known as filarees or heron's bill in North America, whereas in the British Isles they are usually called storksbills.Carl Linnaeus grouped in the same genus ("Geranium"), the three similar genera "Erodium", "Geranium", and "Pelargonium".