ERO DIUM HYMENODES. 
TERNATE LEAVED HERONS BILL. 
Clans. 
monadelphia. 
Natural Order. 
GERANIACEtf. 
Order. 
PENTANDRIA . 
Native of 
Height 
Flowers in 
Duration. 
Introduced 
Barbary. 
9 inches. 
May, Oct. 
Perennial. 
in 1796. 
No. 193. 
The term Erodium is derived from the Greek 
erodius, a heron, in allusion to the resemblance 
the fruit of this plant bears to the head and bill of 
that bird. Hymenodes from the Greek hymne, a 
membrane, and eidos a form or likeness, in allusion 
to its rather conspicuous membranaceous stipules. 
This plant belongs to one of the three divisions 
formerly included under the genus Geranium, which 
genus, though in itself well defined, was increased to 
so inconvenient an extent that it became expedient 
to divide it. L’Heritier, a French botanist, effected 
this in a convenient manner, by arranging the original 
family under the heads Geranium, Pelargonium and 
Erodium, and his method is now fully established. 
Geranium he made to contain all those plants having 
the ten stamens perfect or fertile. Pelargonium has 
only seven fertile stamens; and Erodium possesses 
but five that are perfect. The remainder in each of 
the latter divisions, are always abortive. Thus a 
natural family has been divided to render a conve- 
nience to systematic arrangement. 
This tribe of plants has, indeed, been augmented 
to a most unprecedented extent. The Pelargoniums 
40 
