GEUM  , in

botany, a genus of hardy perennial herbs (natural order Rosaceae) containing about thirty species, widely distributed in temperate and arctic regions . The erect flowering shoots spring from a cluster of radical leaves, which are deeply cut or lobed, the largest division being at the top of the leaf . The flowers are borne singly on long stalks at the end of the stem or its branches . They are white, yellow or red in colour, and shallowly cup-shaped . The fruit consists of a number of dry achenes, each of which bears a hook formed from the persistent lower portion of the style, and admirably adapted for ensuring distribution . Two species occur in Britain under the popular name " avens." G. urbanum is a very common hedge-bank plant with small yellow flowers; G. rivale (water avens) is a rarer plant found by streams, and has larger yellow flowers an inch or more across . The species are easy to cultivate and well adapted for borders or the rock-garden . They are propagated by seeds or by division . The most popular garden species are G. chiloense and its varieties, G. coccineum and G. montanum .