Geranium

This article is about the botanical genus called Geranium. For the summer bedding "geranium", see Pelargonium. For other uses, see Geranium (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with germanium.

Geranium
Geranium dissectum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Geraniales
Family: Geraniaceae
Genus: Geranium
L.
Species

See list.

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 greatest diversity in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.[1]

The palmately cleft leaves are broadly circular in form. The flowers have five petals and are coloured white, pink, purple, or blue, often with distinctive veining.[1] Geraniums will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged.[2] Propagation is by semiripe cuttings in summer, by seed, or by division in autumn or spring.[3]

Geraniums are eaten by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including brown-tail, ghost moth, and mouse moth. At least several species of Geranium are gynodioecious.[4][5][6] The species Geranium viscosissimum (sticky geranium) is considered to be protocarnivorous.[7]

  1. ^ a b Allaby, Michael (26 August 2015). The Dictionary of Science for Gardeners: 6000 Scientific Terms Explored and Explained. Timber Press. ISBN 978-1-60469-483-3. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  2. ^ Tibballs, Geoff (2017-03-09). 100 Plants That Won't Die in Your Garden. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-1-4721-3800-2.
  3. ^ Brickell, Christopher (2011-08-15). American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7566-7508-0.
  4. ^ Hessing, M.B. 1989. Variation in self-fertility and floral characters of Geranium caespitosum (Geraniaceae) along an elevational gradient. Plant Systematics and Evolution 166:225-241.
  5. ^ Van Etten and Chang 2014. Frequency-dependent pollinator discrimination acts against female plants in the gynodioecious Geranium maculatum Annals of Botany 114:1769–1778
  6. ^ Elzinga, Jelmer A.; Varga, Sandra (2017). "Prolonged stigma and flower lifespan in females of the gynodioecious plant Geranium sylvaticum" (PDF). Flora. 226: 72–81. Bibcode:2017FMDFE.226...72E. doi:10.1016/j.flora.2016.11.007. S2CID 85558947.
  7. ^ Spomer, George G. (1999). "Evidence of Protocarnivorous Capabilities in Geranium viscosissimum and Potentilla arguta and Other Sticky Plants". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 160 (1): 98–101. doi:10.1086/314109. ISSN 1058-5893.