geranium

geranium, common name for some members of the Geraniaceae, a family of herbs and small shrubs of temperate and subtropical regions. Their long, beak-shaped fruits give them the popular names crane's-bill (for species of the genus Geranium, the true geranium), heron's-bill (genus Erodium), and stork's-bill (genus Pelargonium). The American wild geranium, or wild crane's-bill, has rose-to-purple five-petaled flowers and handsome, deeply forked leaves; the woodland herb Robert is similar but smaller. Florists' geraniums are hybrid varieties of the S African genus Pelargonium in which the "petals" are actually highly modified stamens. Geraniums are cultivated not only as ornamentals but for the aromatic oils extracted from their foliage and flowers for use in flavorings and perfumes. Geraniums are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Geraniales, family Geraniaceae.

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geranium

Hybrid geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum).

(credit: John H. Gerard)

Any of the approximately 300 species of perennial herbaceous plants or shrubs that make up the genus Geranium (family Geraniaceae), native mostly to subtropical southern Africa. They are among the most popular bedding and greenhouse plants. The closely related genus Pelargonium contains some 280 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbaceous plants also commonly called geraniums. The showy, or Martha Washington, geraniums (P. x domesticum) have large pansylike flowers, few to the cluster. Some geraniums are grown as basket plants indoors and out; they are also used as ground covers in warm areas. Some species have fragrant leaves. Geranium oil smells like roses and is used chiefly in perfumes, soaps, and ointments.