2532 



PELARGONIUM 



PELARGONIUM 



Apparently a common plant., cult, for its pleasant- 

 scented foliage. The plant known to gardeners as P. 

 fragrans is either this species or a close derivative from 

 it. Harvey refers P. fragrans, Willd., to P. exstipulatum; 

 but Knuth separates it as follows: 



16. fragrans, Willd. (P. odoratissimum x P. exstipu- 

 latum, Sweet. Geranium fragrans, Poir. G. odoratis- 

 simum erectum, Andr.). Plant strict, the branches 

 more or less erect: scarcely suffruticose, the sts. more 

 or less squarrose-branched, leafy: If .-blade to 1 in. long 

 and nearly as wide, obtuse-cordate, the margin crenate 

 or crisped, pubescent, the upper Ivs. sessile and the 

 lower long-petioled; stipules triquetrous, free: fls. nearly 

 sessile, whitish, and more or less red-veined; calyx 



Eubescent, the spur J^-Kin. long; sepals or calyx-lobes 

 mceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acute; petals twice or 

 more longer than calyx-lobes, about K m - long) much 

 narrowed at base, the apex rounded. 



AAAAAA. Plant woody, not succulent, much branched, the 

 foliage often scented but not "fishy:" Ivs. various, 

 but not pinnately parted: infl. paniculate or umbel- 

 like; 2 upper petals longer and broader than the 

 others, marked; good stamens 7 or 6. (Peldrgium.) 



B. Lvs. not distinctly lobed, though often angled, mostly 

 oval or ovate and cordate (exceptions in P. domesti- 

 cum). 



17. betulinum, Ait. (Geranium betullnum, Linn.). 

 Erect and shrubby, downy on the young growths: Ivs. 

 eubglabrous, stalked, oval or ovate, obtuse or not 

 prominently acute, rounded or truncate at base, the 

 stipules sharp and deciduous: fls. light purple, the broad 

 upper petals with dark streaks; petals 2-3 times longer 

 than lanceolate sepals, nearly equal, 1 in. or more long, 

 cuneate-obovate, rounded and entire at apex. B.M. 

 148. A handsome and neat plant. 



18. cordatum, L'Her. Figs. 2842, 2843. Shrubby 

 and erect, villous or nearly glabrous: Ivs. long-stalked, 

 cordate-acute, denticulate and sometimes obscurely 

 lobed; stipules with broad base but subulate, deciduous: 

 peduncles usually branched, the pedicels and calyx 

 soft-hairy; fls. purplish, the petals twice as long as the 

 sepals, the two larger nearly or quite 1 in. long, cune- 

 ate-obovate, the apex rounded and entire. B.M. 165 

 (as P. cordifolium) . G.M. 54:627. Distinguished from 

 P. cucullatum by its flat cordate acute Ivs. It is a hand- 

 some plant in bloom. The plant in cult, as P. cordatum 



(Fig. 2843), has Ivs. more truncate at the base than the 

 descriptions and old pictures call for, although on some 

 shoots the Ivs. may be typically cordate. In the wild, 

 the plant runs into several forms, distinguished largely 

 by pubescence. 



19. cucullatum, Ait. (Geranium cucullatum, Linn.). 

 Tall and shrubby plant, much branched, softly and 



densely villous: Ivs. long- 

 stalked, kidney - shaped 

 and cupped or cucullate, 

 denticulate, very soft- 

 pubescent, the stipules 

 ovate-acute and wither- 

 ing: fls. red or reddish, in 

 many-fld. panicles, the 

 pedicels and calices 

 densely silky-hairy, the 

 petals twice as long as 

 the lance -acuminate 



2847. Forms of leaf of Pelargonium graveolens ( X 1 A). No. 26. 



2846. Pelargonium quercifolium. Leaves often more deeply 

 lobed (X 1 A). No. 25. 



sepals, the two larger ones about 1 in. long and 

 broad, rounded or retuse at apex, red with darker veins. 

 "Very common round Capetown and in the western 

 districts, where it is often used as an ornamental hedge- 

 plant." Harvey. Known in England from 1690, and 

 the parent, with P. angulosum and probably others, of 

 the fancy or show pelargoniums of gardeners. Proba- 

 bly not known in cult, in its pure or original form. 



20. anguldsum, Ait. (Geranium angulosum, Mill.). 

 Fig. 2844. Differs from P. cucullatum in its harsh-hairy 

 covering and rigid angled Ivs.: the Ivs. are short- 

 stalked, truncate or broadly cuneate at base, with 3-5 

 shallow angular and acute short rigid lobes: panicles 

 with fewer-fld. umbels; pedicels and calices densely 

 rough-hairy; petals twice as long as the acuminate 

 sepals. Linnaeus included this plant in his Geranium 

 cucullatum, but Aiton separated it as a distinct species. 

 Linnaeus' cucullatum was founded on literature. One 

 of his sources of information was Dillenius' "Hprtus 

 Elthamensis," with a picture; but this picture, which is 

 reduced in Fig. 2844, is what is now known as P. angu- 

 losum. This is one of the species which has entered 

 largely into the pelargoniums of florists. Has been 

 cult, since 1724. 



21. domesticum class. COMMON, SHOW, FANCY, and 

 LADY WASHINGTON GERANIUMS (or PELARGONIUMS). 

 Fig. 2845. This name distinguishes the garden type of 

 florist's and fancy pelargonium. The race is said to be 

 derived chiefly from P. cucullatum, P. angulosum, and 

 P. grandiflorum, but the writer can see little evidence 

 of the blood of P. grandiflorum. It seems to be near- 

 est to P. cucullatum, having the cucullate or disk- 

 shaped not lobed Ivs. and mostly the soft-hairiness of 

 that species. In many of them, however, the Ivs. are 

 distinctly angle-lobed, suggesting P. angulosum. P. 

 domesticum is meant to comprise the whole range of 

 garden forms of the Show or Lady Washington pelar- 

 goniums. The name will enable one to talk about these 

 garden plants with precision. To many of these garden 

 forms specific botanical names have been given, so that 



