GERANIUMS. 15 
crane ; that of a Pelargonium being fancied to resemble a stork- 
bill, whereas the name of Hrodium was suggested by its supposed 
resemblance to a heron’s beak. As all three are represented here 
by native plants and numerous species of Pelargonium pass 
under the name of Geraniums in ordinary gardens, it is deemed 
desirable to explain the generic differences in schematic form. 
Geranium: Calyx devoid of a nectar-tube. Petals five, equal. 
Stamens ten, usually all fertile, those opposite the sepals pro- 
vided at the base with an anterior gland. Awnlike prolongations 
of the fruitlets coiled-seceding from the lengthened fruit-axis and 
mostly smooth. Cotyledons orbicular, convolute, on one side 
replicate.—Herbs, very rarely shrubs ; leaves often as broad as 
long ; flowerstalks one- or two-flowered. 
Erodium: Calyx devoid of a nectar-tube. Petals five, equal. 
Stamens ten ; the five opposite to the petals destitute of anthers ; 
those opposite to the sepals provided at the base with an anterior 
gland. Awnlike prolongations of the fruitlets spirally seceding 
from the lengthened fruit-axis and mostly bearded inside. Coty- 
ledons elliptic, plan-convex, on one side replicate.—Herbs, rarely 
somewhat shrubby plants ; leaves usually longer than broad ; 
flowers in umbels, or sometimes one or two only on a stalk. 
Pelargonium: Posterior sepal lengthened into a descending 
nectar-tube ; the latter innate-decurrent along the flower- 
stalklet. Petals unequal. Stamens ten, often bent downward ; 
those opposite the petals all or in part destitute of anthers ; 
those opposite the sepals devoid of an anterior gland. Awn- 
like prolongations of the fruitlets spirally seceding from the 
lengthened fruit-axis and partially bearded inside. Cotyledons 
elliptic, flat or slightly curved.i~Herbs or shrubs; flowers 
usually in umbels. 
The characteristics here explained may be easily ascertained 
in any garden. Pelargonium, for instance, contains the so-called 
Scarlet Geranium of South Africa. 
Our native species of Pelargonium number only two ; and even 
these stand to each other in such close affinity, that they might 
be considered as mere varieties of one. The commoner of the two 
is scientifically recorded as Pelargonium australe, already at the 
