''Geranium'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of 422

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of annual, biennial, and

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the greatest diversity in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region. The palmately cleft

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are broadly circular in form. The flowers have five petals and are coloured white, pink, purple, or blue, often with distinctive veining. Geraniums will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged. Propagation is by semiripe cuttings in summer, by seed, or by division in autumn or spring. Geraniums are eaten by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including

brown-tail The brown-tail moth (''Euproctis chrysorrhoea'') is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is native to Europe, neighboring countries in Asia, and the north coast of Africa. Descriptions of outbreaks, i.e., large population increases of several years ...

, ghost moth, and

mouse moth The mouse moth (''Amphipyra tragopoginis'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a widespread species with a Holarctic distribution. Distribution Europe (except the extreme north, and not occurring in the south of Spain, Sicily, or the Balka ...

. At least several species of ''Geranium'' are gynodioecious. The species '' Geranium viscosissimum'' (sticky geranium) is considered to be protocarnivorous.

Name

The genus name is derived from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

(''géranos'') ' crane'. The English name 'cranesbill' derives from the resemblance of the

fruit capsule In botany, a capsule is a type of simple, dry, though rarely fleshy dehiscent fruit produced by many species of angiosperms (flowering plants). Origins and structure The capsule (Latin: ''capsula'', small box) is derived from a compound (mult ...

of some of the species to a crane's head and bill. The

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

portion forms the head and the prolonged stigma creates the appearance of a beak.

Description

The flowers are typically five-petaled and white to purple. The leaves are palmate divided into narrow, pointed segments. The fruit capsule consists of five cells joined to a column produced from the centre of the flower. The cells form lobes which eventually separate, each containing one seed. When the fruit is ripe, the beak-like stigma springs open and casts the ovoid, streamlined seeds some distance, dispersing the seeds.

Confusion with ''Pelargonium''

Confusingly, "geranium" is also the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

of members of the genus ''

Pelargonium ''Pelargonium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennial plant, perennials, succulent plant, succulents, and shrubs, common name, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. ''Geranium'' is also ...

'', which are also in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Geraniaceae Geraniaceae is a family of flowering plants placed in the order Geraniales. The family name is derived from the genus '' Geranium''. The family includes both the genus '' Geranium'' (the cranesbills, or true geraniums) and the garden plants call ...

and are widely grown as horticultural

bedding Bedding, also called bedclothes or bed linen, is the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, protection of the mattress, and decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environment ...

plants.

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

originally included all the species in one genus, ''Geranium'', but they were later separated into two genera by Charles L’Héritier in 1789. Other former members of the genus are now classified in '' Erodium'', including the plants known as filarees in North America. The term "hardy geranium" is often applied to horticultural ''Geranium''s to distinguish them from the ''Pelargonium''s, which are not winter-hardy in

horticulture. However, not all ''Geranium'' species are winter-hardy (see below). The shape of the flowers offers one way of distinguishing between the two genera ''Geranium'' and ''Pelargonium''. ''Geranium'' flowers have five very similar petals, and are thus radially symmetrical ( actinomorphic), whereas ''Pelargonium'' (and also ''Erodium'') flowers have two upper petals which are different from the three lower petals, so the flowers have a single plane of symmetry (

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spir ...

Cultivation

A number of geranium species are cultivated for horticultural use and for pharmaceutical products. Some of the more commonly grown species include: *'' Geranium albanum'' (crested cranesbill) *'' Geranium cinereum'' *'' Geranium clarkei'' (Clarke's geranium) *'' Geranium dalmaticum'' *'' Geranium endressii'' (Endres's cranesbill) *'' Geranium erianthum'' (wooly geranium) *'' Geranium fremontii'' (Fremont's geranium) *'' Geranium himalayense'', often sold under ''Geranium grandiflorum'' *'' Geranium ibericum'' (Caucasus geranium), *'' Geranium macrorrhizum'' (bigroot cranesbill or bigroot geranium) *''

Geranium maculatum ''Geranium maculatum'', the wild geranium, spotted geranium, or wood geranium, is a perennial plant native to woodland in eastern North America, from southern Manitoba and southwestern Quebec south to Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia a ...

'' (wild geranium) *'' Geranium maderense'' (giant herb robert) *'' Geranium × magnificum'' (showy geranium) *'' Geranium phaeum'' (dusky cranesbill) *'' Geranium platypetalum'' (broad-petaled geranium) *'' Geranium pratense'' (meadow cranesbill) *'' Geranium psilostemon'' (Armenian cranesbill) *'' Geranium renardii'' (Renard geranium) *'' Geranium sanguineum'' (bloody cranesbill) *'' Geranium subcaulescens'' (grey cranesbill) *''

Geranium sylvaticum ''Geranium sylvaticum'', the wood cranesbill or woodland geranium, is a species of hardy flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to Europe and northern Turkey. The Latin specific epithet ''sylvaticum'' means "of woodland", referring ...

'' (wood cranesbill) All the above species are perennials and generally winter-hardy plants, grown for their attractive flowers and foliage. They are long-lived and most have a mounding habit, with palmately lobed foliage. Some species have spreading rhizomes. They are normally grown in part shade to full sun, in well-draining but moisture retentive soils, rich in

humus In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...

. Other perennial species grown for their flowers and foliage include: '' Geranium argenteum'', '' G. eriostemon'', '' G. farreri'', '' G. nodosum'', '' G. procurrens'', '' G. pylzowianum'', '' G. renardii'', '' G. traversii'', '' G. tuberosum'', '' G. versicolor'', '' G. wallichianum'', and '' G. wlassovianum''. Some of these are not winter-hardy in cold areas and are grown in specialized gardens like rock gardens. ''Geranium'' 'Johnson's Blue' is a hybrid between ''G. himalayense'' (southwestern China), with ''G. pratense'' (European meadow cranesbill).

Cultivars

The following hybrid

cultivars A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue cult ...

have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

(other cultivars are dealt with under their species name - see above):- *'Ann Folkard' *'A. T. Johnson' (''G.'' × ''oxonianum'') *'Ballerina' *'Blue Cloud' *Blue Sunrise='Blogold' ( PBR) *'Brookside' *'Danny Boy' *'Dilys' *'Gypsy' (''G.'' × ''lindavicum'') *'Ivan' *'Mavis Simpson' *'Nimbus' *'Orion' *Patricia='Brempat' *Rothbury Gem='Gerfos' *Rozanne='Gerwat' *'Russell Prichard' *'Sirak' *'Wageningen' *'Wargrave Pink' (''G.'' × ''oxonianum'')

Gallery

File:Geranium maculatum - wild cranesbill - desc-flower straight on.jpg File:Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum).jpg, ''

'' File:Illustration Geranium phaeum0.jpg, '' Geranium phaeum'' - from Thomé ''Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz'' 1885 File:Geranium platypetalum1.jpg, '' Geranium platypetalum'' File:Geranium sanguineum0.jpg, '' Geranium sanguineum'' File:Geranium pratense (Meadow Cranesbill).jpg, '' Geranium pratense'' (meadow cranesbill) File:Geranium-robertianum(Samen).jpg, '' Geranium robertianum'' (herb robert) File:GeraniumMaderense.jpg, '' Geranium maderense'' File:Wildgeranium.jpg, ''

'' File:Starr 980718-1820 Geranium arboreum.jpg, '' Geranium arboreum'' File:Płatek bodziszka.jpg, Geranium petal under the microscope Geranios Rosas y Rojos

File:Geranium (probably 'Johnson's Blue').jpg, ''Geranium (possibly 'Johnson's Blue')'' File:גרניון גזור.jpg, ''

Geranium dissectum ''Geranium dissectum'' or cut-leaved crane's-bill is a plant species of the genus ''Geranium''. It is native to Europe. It can be found on other continents as well, in some instances as an introduced species. It can be found in North America, wh ...

References

Bibliography

*
Genus ''Geranium'' in North America: the Perennials

External links

ITIS list of Geranium species

Geranium Taxonomic Information System

Preparing Geraniums for Winter
{{Authority control Geraniales genera Garden plants Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus