78 GERANIUMS. 
Pelargonium is much rarer and also a more showy plant, Pelar- 
gonium Rodneyanum (Fig. XXXII). 
Its stem is usually short, sometimes nearly obliterated ; the 
root is often thicker, in proportion to the whole plant large and 
usually somewhat woody ; the leaves are mostly rhombeshaped- 
oval ; the flowers are manifestly larger and of a deeper red ; the 
sterile stamens and the styles are longer, and the fruit, which is 
seldom developed, is larger. 
This plant adapts itself particularly to clayey masieaetatl 
Our only indigenous Geranium and Erodium will be easily 
recognised by contrasting the generic characteristics, but to 
facilitate still more the recognition some brief specific notes of 
each are given :— 
Geranium dissectum.—Diffuse or procumbent, hairy. Root 
here somewhat tuberous and perennial, in colder climates often 
thin and annual. Leaves mostly long-stalked, in outline heart- 
shaped- or kidneyshaped-orbicular, deeply 5-7 cleft; their pri- 
mary partitions cut into three or more lobes, some rarely 
entire ; flowerstalks usually long, bearing one or two flowers, 
bent down in age. Flowerssmall; sepals pointed; petals wedge- 
shaped, oval, entire or slightly excised at the summit, pale or 
pink, scantily downy at the base. Stamens shorter than the 
calyx, subtle-downy towards the base, short-connate; glands 
smooth ; styles finely downy as well as the fruitlets, the latter 
not wrinkled ; seeds netted-rough outside. 
The roots used for food by the aborigines. An alpine variety 
is stemless, with sessile flowers on only very short flower- 
stalks. 
This plant is widely dispersed over the globe, whereas our 
Erodium is confined to Australia. 
Erodium cygnorum.—Short-hairy. Leaves trisected; their 
lobes almost rhombeshaped, blunt, coarsely and unequally toothed 
except towards the base ; the upper lobe the largest and trifid, 
the lateral lobes somewhat bifid. Flowerstalks bearing a few- 
flowered umbel, or sometimes only two or one flower; sepals 
short-pointed ; petals small, blue; fertile filaments glabrous, 
much dilated towards the base, toothless, considerably longer 
