''Pelargonium quercifolium'' is a species of

geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the gre ...

known by the common name oakleaf geranium or oak-geranium. It is native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and it is a commonly grown

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

. It is in the subgenus pelargonium along with

Pelargonium crispum ''Pelargonium crispum'' (the "crisped-leaf pelargonium") is a ''Pelargonium'' species native to the Western Cape Province, South Africa. It is in the subgenus ''Pelargonium'' along with ''Pelargonium graveolens'' and ''Pelargonium capitatum'' and ...

and Pelargonium tomentosum.

Etymology

Pelargonium comes from the Greek; Pelargos which means

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

. Another name for pelargoniums is storksbills due to the shape of their fruit. Quercifolium refers to the oak shaped leaves (oak - ''

Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

'').

Description

''Pelargonium quercifolium'' is a densely branching

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

easily exceeding one meter in height, taller than wide. The stems are soft and coated in green hairs when young and become woody with age. The glandular, sticky, aromatic leaves are divided into 5 or 7 stiff, coarsely toothed lobes. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is an

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

of up to 10 flowers with five petals up to 2.5 centimeters long. The flowers are pink with darker pink markings.

Cultivars and hybrids

There are many cultivars of ''Pelargonium quercifolium'' and a few hybrids. These include: *''Pelargonium quercifolium'' 'Fair Ellen' - A variety with almond scented leaves, pink flowers and dark blotches on the leaves. *''Pelargonium quercifolium'' 'Giant Oak' - A variety with particularly large almond/balsam scented leaves, pink flowers and dark blotches on the leaves. *''Pelargonium quercifolium'' 'Royal Oak' - A variety with almond/balsam scented leaves, pink flowers and dark leaf veins. *''Pelargonium'' 'Chocolate Peppermint' - A hybrid between ''P.'' 'Giant Oak' and '' Pelargonium tomentosum''. It has dark blotches in the centre of the leaves (hence 'chocolate') and a slight minty scent although it is officially classified as pungent scented. *''Pelargonium'' 'Clorinda' - A hybrid between ''P. quercifolium'' and an unknown regal pelargonium. It has sweet, very aromatic oak shaped leaves. Its large pink flowers are courtesy of the regal in its parentage and it goes on flowering for months (spring - summer). *There are a group of 7 pelargoniums bred by Edna Popperwell (UK plantswoman) which all have ''P. quercifolium'' and a Regal Pelargonium in their parentage. They range in scents from almond/cedar like ''P. quercifolium'' to

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

and

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

. They are 'Ashby' (rose scented), 'Brunswick' (cedar), 'Copthorne' (cedar), Fairlop (mint/spicy), 'Hemley', 'Orsett' and 'Welling' (all sweetly scented).

Uses

As well as being a houseplant or outdoor perennial depending on climate, the leaves are very aromatic and can be used in something like

potpourri Potpourri ( ) is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. It is often placed in a decorative bowl. Etymology The word "potpourri" comes into English from ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15208935 quercifolium Flora of South Africa