W83 



GERANIUMS 



Gera'nium spp. 



Geraniums are perennial, annual, or occasionally biennial herbs 

 and derive their name from the Greek word for crane (geraiws), be- 

 cause of the fancied resemblance of the long fruit-bearing beak 

 (styles) protruding from the center of the flower to that of a crane. 

 There are approximately 16 species of geranium, almost wholly per- 

 ennial, occurring natively on western ranges, and about five annual 

 species naturalized from Europe according to conservative botanists. 

 A few other species occur in Alaska. Geraniums are widely dis- 

 tributed and well known both in North America and in the Old 

 World. There are at least several species of the genus in each of the 

 11 far- western States. 



The common potted geraniums belong to the related South African 

 genus Pelargonium. Therefore, the English name cranesbill hasl 

 been designated in Standardized Plant Names as the approved name 

 for members of the genus Geranium. Historically the name geranium 

 applies to this genus, and these plants are universally known as 

 geraniums both in the range country and in the literature of range 

 plants. Standardized Plant Names approves the name wild geranium 

 for one species of the genus (G. maculatwri). 



Geraniums occur up to elevations of at least 10,000 feet in drier 

 mountain meadows and parks, in open timber where the ground 

 is damp, and in the grasslands of plains and foothills. These plants 

 usually prefer a rich loam with partial shade, growing as scattered 

 individuals or in patches but seldom occur in pure stands. 



Geraniums are of only moderate forage value, varying from 

 fair to good in the central Rocky Mountains and Northwest, and 

 fair in the Southwest. They are of more value for sheep than for 

 cattle. Sheep frequently consume most of the herbage in the spring 

 but later eat only the flowers or nibble the leaves. Cattle eat only 

 the more tender herbage. Game, especially deer, graze both the 

 flowers and the leaves. Some observers consider geraniums of great- 

 est value during the latter part of the grazing season but this is 

 probably due to the consumption of the herbage of the grasses and 

 more palatable weeds as the season advances, which tends to con- 

 centrate grazing on the less palatable species. Geraniums custom- 

 arily produce sufficient seed to maintain their stands. Nature has 

 provided these plants with springlike mechanisms which effectively 

 distribute the ripened seeds. 



Certain geraniums are used for medicinal purposes, principally 

 as astringents. Such utilization dates back to the Indians. 1 The 

 native, spotted geranium (G. maculatum) , often called wild ge- 

 ranium, which is frequently cultivated, furnishes a popular remedy 

 for diarrhea, chronic dysentery, certain throat ailments, and other 

 purposes. The annual, herb robert (G. robertianwtn) , which grows 



iWood, H. C., Remington, J. P., and Sadtler, S. P., assisted by Lyons, A. B., and 

 Woods, H. C., Jr. THE DISPENSATORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BY DR. OEO. B. 

 WOOD AND DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. Ed. 19, thoroughly revised and largely rewritten , 

 1,947 pp. Philadelphia and London. 1907. 



