196 XXVll. GERANIACEiE. Geravhtm. 



limits of this Flora), also of Europe and Asia, Not uncommon in gardens. 

 Flowers large, blue, f 



Order XXYII. GERANIACE^.— Gerania. 



St&ms herbaceous or siifiVutescent, tumid and separable at the nodes. ♦ 



Lvs. opposite, (at least the lower ones,) mostly stipulate, petiolate, palmately veined. 



F/«.— Pedimcles terminal or opposite the leaves, sometimes axillary. 



Ca7.— Sepals 5, persistent, veined, one sometimes saccate or spurred at base. 



Cor.— Petals 5, hypogynous or perigynous, unguiculate ; aestivation twisted. 



Bta. usually monadelphous, hypogynous, twice or thrice as many as the petals. 



Ova. ^ of 3 united car])els, 2-ovuled. alternate with sepals, upon an elongated axis, from which they sepa- 



Fr.~ i rate in fruit, curving upwards on the persistent style. 



Genera 4, species 500. The Cape of Good Hope is the favorite habitation of some of the most impor- 

 tant genera. IMost species of the beautiful Pelajgonia are native of Uiat region alone. 

 Conspectus of the Genera. 



(all perfect Geranimn. 1 



< 5 perfect, with 5 shorter and imperfect Erodium. 2 



Stamens 10, ( 7 perfect ; corolla irregular Pelargonium. 3 



1. GERANIUM. 



Gr. yepavoi, a crane ; the beaked fruit resembles a crane's bill. 



Sepals and petals 5, regular; stamens 10, all perfect, the 5 alter- 

 nate ones longer, and each with a nectariferous gland at its base ; 

 fruit rostrate, at length separating into 5 long-styled, 1 -seeded car- 

 pels ; styles smooth inside, at length recurved from the base upwards 

 and adhering by the point to the summit of the axis. — Herbaceous, 

 rarely shrubby at base. Peduncles I, 2 oi- o-jiowered. 



1. G. MACULATUM. Spotted Geranium. 



St. erect, angular, dichotomous, retrorsely pubescent ; lvs. 3 — 5-parted, 

 lobes cuneiform and entire at base, incisely serrate above, radical ones on long 

 petioles, upper ones opposite, on short petioles; pet. entire; sep. mucronate- 

 awned. — Woods, &c., U. S. and Can., but rare in N. Eng. A fine species, 

 worthy a place among the parlor " geraniums." Stem 1 — 2f high. Leaves 

 2 — 3' diam., cleft | way down, 2 at each fork. Flowers mostly in pairs, on 

 unequal pedicels, often somewhat umbeled on the ends of the long peduncles. 

 Root powerfully astringent. Apr. — Jn. 



2. G. RoBERTiANUM. Hcrb Robert. 



St. diffuse, hairy ; lvs. 3 — 5-parted to the base, the segments pinna tifid, 

 and the pinnge incisely toothed ; scp. mucronate-a-WTied, half the length of the 

 entire petals. — %. Smaller and less interesting than the preceding, in dr}'', rocky 

 places. Can. to Va. and Ky. It has a reddish stem, with long, ditfu-se, weak 

 branches. Leaves on long petioles, somewhat hairy, outline 1| — 3' diam, with 

 pinnatifid segments. Flowers small, pale purple. Capsules small, rugose, 

 keeled. Seeds smooth. The plant has a strong disagreeable smell. May. — Sept, 



3. G. pusiLLUM. Weak Crane's-bill. 



St. procumbent ; lvs. reniform or roundish, deeply 5 — 7-parted, lobes 

 3-cleft, linear; scp. hairy, acmninate, about as long as the emarginate petals. — 

 (1) A delicate, spreading species, growing in waste grounds, pastures, &c., L. I. 

 and Western N. Y. Torr. Stem weak. If long, branching, covered with short, 

 deflected hairs. Leaves opposite, divided almost to the base into 5 or 7 lobes, 

 these again variously cut. Pedimcles axillary, forked, bearing 2 purplish-red 

 flowers in Jn. and Jl. 



4. G. Carolinianum. CaroUnia?i Crane's-bill. 



St. diflTu.sely branched; lvs. deeply 5-parted, lobes incisely toothed; ped. 

 rather short and clustered on the ends of the branches; scp. mucronate-awned, 

 as long as the emarginate petals. — (T) Fields and hills throughout Can. and 

 U. S. Stems pubescent, diffuse, 8 — 15' long, swelling at the joints. Leaves 

 I — li' diam., hairy. Flowers small, rose-colored, in pairs, and somewhat fas- 

 ciculate. Seeds minutely reticulated, reddish brown, 1 in each hairy, beaked 

 carpel. Jl. — Perhaps too near the following species. 



