Geranium is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of 422 species of flowering
annualAn annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
,
biennialA biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots , then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming...
, and
perennialA perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants...
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s that are commonly known as the
cranesbills. It is found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region. These attractive flowers will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged.
PropagationPlant propagation is the process of artificially or naturally distributing plants.-Sexual propagation :Seeds and spores can be used for reproduction . Seeds are typically produced from sexual reproduction within a species, since because genetic recombination has occurred plants grown from seed may...
is by semi-ripe cuttings in summer, by seed, or by division in autumn or spring.
The name "cranesbill" derives from the appearance of the fruit capsule of some of the species.
Geranium is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of 422 species of flowering
annualAn annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
,
biennialA biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots , then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming...
, and
perennialA perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants...
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s that are commonly known as the
cranesbills. It is found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region. These attractive flowers will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged.
PropagationPlant propagation is the process of artificially or naturally distributing plants.-Sexual propagation :Seeds and spores can be used for reproduction . Seeds are typically produced from sexual reproduction within a species, since because genetic recombination has occurred plants grown from seed may...
is by semi-ripe cuttings in summer, by seed, or by division in autumn or spring.
The name "cranesbill" derives from the appearance of the fruit capsule of some of the species. Species in the
Geranium genus have a type of mechanism produced by the pollinated flower. The mechanism is a beak-like column that springs open when ripe and casts the seeds some distance. The fruit capsule consists of five cells each containing one seed, joined to a column produced from the center of the old flower. The common name cranesbill comes from shape of the unsprung column, which in some species is long and looks like the bill of a
craneCranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds of the order Gruiformes, and family Gruidae. There are fifteen species. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
. Many species in this genus do not have a long beak-like column. The genus name is derived from the
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
γέρανος,
géranos, or γερανός,
geranós, crane. The long, palmately cleft
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are broadly circular in form. Their rose, pink to blue or white flowers have 5 petals.
Cranesbills are eaten by the
larvaA larva is a young form of animal with indirect development, going through or undergoing metamorphosis ....
e of some
LepidopteraLepidoptera is an order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including
Brown-tailThe Brown-tail is a moth of the family Lymantriidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.The wings of this species are pure white, as is the body, apart from a tuft of brown hairs at the end of the abdomen. The brown colouration extends along most of the back of the abdomen in the male...
and
Mouse MothThe Mouse Moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a very widespread species with a Holarctic distribution.This is a rather drab but distinctive species. The forewings are uniform dark brown with three blackish spots arranged in a triangle. The hindwings are buffish, darker towards the...
.
The species
Geranium viscosissimum is considered to be protocarnivorous.
Pelargoniums
Confusingly, "geranium" is also the
common nameA common name is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with a scientific name...
of members of the genus
PelargoniumPelargonium is a genus of flowering plants which includes about 200 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly known as geraniums or storksbills. Confusingly, Geranium is the correct botanical name of a separate genus of related plants often called Cranesbills. Both genera are in...
, which were formerly classified in the cranesbill genus. In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, true Geraniums are frequently distinguished from the less hardy Pelargoniums as (rather redundantly) "hardy geraniums" by gardeners and in the horticultural trade. One can make the distinction between the two by looking at the flowers:
Geranium has symmetrical
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s, while
Pelargonium has irregular or maculate
petalA petal is one member or part of the corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its bright color...
s. Other former members of the genus are now classified in genus
ErodiumErodium is a genus of the botanical family Geraniaceae. The genus includes about 60 species, for the most part originating in the Mediterranean or Western Asian regions...
, including the plants known as filarees in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
.
Cultivation
A number of geranium species are cultivated for their landscape value and for pharmaceutical products.
Some of the more commonly grown species include:
- Geranium cinereum
Geranium cinereum is a small, semi-evergreen perennial plant usually grown for low ground cover or in rockeries.They generally grow to 150 cm in height with a spread of 3000 cm. Leaves are deeply divided and grey-green...
- Geranium clarkei
Geranium clarkei, called Clark's geranium, is a herbaceous species of plant in the Geraniaceae family. It is native to India and is cultivated for use in gardens in other parts of the world....
(Clark's geranium)
- Geranium dalmaticum
Geranium dalmaticum, commonly called Dalmatian cranesbill, is a herbaceous species of plant in the Geraniaceae family. It is cultivated as a garden subject for its low mounding habit and soft mauve colored flowers....
- Geranium endressii
Geranium endressii, commonly called Endres cranesbill or French crane's-bill, is a herbaceous plant species in the Geraniaceae family. It is native from France and Spain, and is cultivated as a garden subject. It has a mounding to sprawling habit, and soft pink colored flowers....
- Geranium himalayense
Geranium himalayense, commonly called Lilac cranesbill or Himalayan crane's-bill, is a herbaceous plant species in the Geraniaceae family. It is native from India to Russia to western China, and is cultivated as a garden subject. It has a sprawling habit, and violet-blue colored flowers and deeply...
often sold under Geranium grandiflorum
- Geranium ibericum
Geranium ibericum, commonly called Caucasian Cranesbill or Caucasus Geranium or Iberian Geranium, is a herbaceous plant species in the Geraniaceae family. It is native from Western Asia, including Turkey and the Caucasus, and is cultivated as a garden subject. It has a dense mounding habit, and...
(Caucasus geranium),
- Geranium macrorrhizum
Geranium macrorrhizum is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant species. Its common names include bigroot geranium, Bulgarian geranium, zdravetz and rock crane's-bill....
(Bigroot cranesbill or Bigroot geranium)
- Geranium maculatum
Geranium maculatum, the Spotted Geranium, Wood Geranium, or Wild Geranium is a woodland perennial plant native to eastern North America, from southern Manitoba and southwestern Quebec south to Alabama and west to Oklahoma and South Dakota...
(Wild geranium)
- Geranium x magnificum
Geranium × magnificum is a cranesbill that is the result of hybridisation between Geranium platypetalum and Geranium ibericum. It is commonly called Purple Cranesbill....
(Showy geranium)
- Geranium phaeum
Geranium phaeum, commonly called Dusky Cranesbill, Mourning Widow or Black Widow, is a herbaceous plant species in the Geraniaceae family. It is native from southern, central, and western Europe, and is cultivated as a garden subject. It has dark violet colored flowers....
- Geranium platypetalum
Geranium platypetalum, commonly called Broad-petaled geranium, is a herbaceous plant species in the Geraniaceae family. It is native to Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Russian Federation, and is cultivated as a garden subject, under a number of different cultivar names. It has...
(Broad-petaled geranium)
- Geranium pratense
Geranium pratense, the Meadow Cranesbill, is a species of plant in the Geraniaceae family. The leaves are deeply divided, divided into 7-9 lobes and 3-6 inch wide.-References:*...
(Meadow cranesbill)
- Geranium psilostemon
Geranium psilostemon, commonly called Armenian crane's-bill, is a herbaceous plant species in the Geraniaceae family. It is native from Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation, and is cultivated as a garden subject, and a number of different cultivars exist. It has glowing reddish...
- Geranium sanguineum
Geranium sanguineum, commonly called Bloody Cranesbill, is a herbaceous plant species in the Geraniaceae family. It is native from Europe and temperate Asia, and is cultivated as a garden subject, and a number of different cultivars exist. The flowers are purple—the name refers to the red color of...
(Bloody cranesbill)
- Geranium sylvaticum
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, that are rich in
humusHumus is degraded organic material in soil, which causes some soil layers to be dark brown or black....
. Other perennial species that are grown for their flowers and foliage include:
G. 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 x. 'Johnson's Blue' is a hybridisation between G himalayense (Southwestern China), with G pratense (European Meadow Crane'sbill).
External links