GERA 
pellucid gems as are marked with a fpot refembllng a 
crane's eye. 
GERA'NIUM, f, [from yifacvo^, Gr. a crane, the 
fruit having the form of a crane’s head and neck.] 
Crane’s Bill ; in botany, a genus of the clafs mona- 
delphia, order decandria, nat iralof gruinales, (gerania, 
Jujf.) The generic characters arc—Calyx : five-leaved ; 
leaflets ovate, acute, concave, permanent. Corolla: 
petals five, obcordate or ovate, fpreading, regularj 
nectary five honied glands, faftened to the bale of the 
longer filaments. Stamina : filaments ten, awl-fliaped, 
connected llighlly at the bafe, fpreading at the top, 
fliorter than the corolla; antherae oblong, verfatile. 
Piftillum : germ five-cornered, beaked ; Ityle awl-fliaped, 
longer tlian the ftamens, permanent; Itigmas five, re¬ 
flex. Pericarpiurn : capfule five-grained, beaked, the 
Cells opening inwards, each having a fimple naked tail 
fixed to it. Seeds : folitary, ovate-oblong .—EJfential Cha- 
raEler. Calyx five-leaved ; corolla five-petalled, regular; 
nectary five honied glands, faftened to the bafe of tire 
longer filaments ; fruit five-grained, beaked ; beaks fim¬ 
ple, naked, neitlier Spiral nor bearded. 
The genus of Geranium, as conftituted by Linnaeus, 
having become very unwieldy by modern difcoveries, it 
is found very convenient to divide it ; and a divifion is 
commodioufly made from this remarkable circumftance ; 
namely, that in fome fpecies all the ten filaments are 
tertile, whilft in others three or even five of them are 
caftrated, that is, are deftitute of anther;e Hence three 
genera are now conftituted out of one : F.rodium, with five 
tertile ftamens only ; Pelargonum, with feven; and this, 
retaining the old name, with all the ten fertile. There 
are alfo other marks of dil'criniination recited in their 
refpecfive elfential characters. Thele three artificial 
genera or families, however, form but one natural fa¬ 
mily, agreeing in their five-leaved calyxes, their five- 
petalled corollas, their pentacoceous roftrated fruits, 
and their general habit and ftructure. They alfo agree 
in their inflorefcence, the peduncles being curved down¬ 
wards before flowering time; but when the flowers are 
about to open, the general peduncle firft, and then each 
pedicel becoming ereCl. The fructification of Geranium 
is (hewn on the Botany Plate XII. fig. 26-27 ; fee alfo 
Plate IV. fig. 16, 23, 67 ; and Plate VIII. fig. 31, 37. 
Species. I. Peduncles one-flowered. 1. Geranium Si- 
biricum, or Siberian crane’s-bill ; peduncles commonly 
one-flowered; leaves rive-parted, acute ; leaflets pinna- 
tifid. Root perennial; ftems herbaceous, annual, dif- 
fulely dichotomous, jointed, almoft round and fmooth. 
Native of Siberia. 'Cultivated before 1768 by Mr.Miller, 
who received the feeds from Linna:us. It flowers in June. 
2. Geranium fanguineum, or bloody crane’s-bill: pe¬ 
duncles one-flowered ; leaves five-parted, trifid, orbi- 
culale. Root perennial, fomewhat woody; the whole 
plant fet with white Ipreading hairs ; ftems a foot or more 
in height, fpreading, branched, round, jointed, fvvell- 
ing at the joints. The whole plant frequently turns red 
or purple atter flowering. Native of many parts of Eu¬ 
rope, in thickets and rocky paftures, flowering molt part 
of the (ummer, and often introduced into gardens as an 
ornamental plant. 
13 . Miller infills that the “ Lancafliire bloody crane’s- 
bill” is a dillinCt fpecies, the plants which he raifed 
from feeds having always continued the fame. The 
ftalks are Ihortcr, and flat on the ground ; the leaves 
are much lefs, and not fo deeply divided; and the flow, 
ers are much fmaller, of a pale colour, marked with 
purple. It grows naturally in Lancafliire and Weftmore- 
land. There are other varieties of this fpecies. One is 
mentioned by Ray, with larger paler leaves, more deeply 
divided. And a lecond, iiiEnglilh Botany, fent by Mr. 
Davall trom Swilferland, which has two flowers and four 
bradtes from each joint ; the ftem, flower-ftalks, calyx, 
and back of the leaves, clothed with white Header fpread- 
N I U M. 455 
ing hairs, the upper fide and margin of the leaves with 
fliort deprelfed bridles. 
3. Geranium fpinofum, or fpiny crane’s-bill: pedun¬ 
cles one-flowered ; ftem flefltv, knobbed ; fpines folitary, 
ftricl. This is a low fucculent plant. Root fimple, 
Icarcely fibrous. Stem fuftVuticofe, eredt, branched, 
fenced all round with broad, fmooth, irregular, knots or 
tubercles, fi'om the centre of wh.ich arifes a very long, 
fliarp, black, fpine. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 
4. Geranium emarginatum, or emarginated crane’s- 
bill; peduncles one-fiovv'cred ; leaves ovate, emarginate, 
crenate. This is a native of the Cape of Good Hope ; 
obferved byThunberg. 
II. Peduncles two-flowered, fnrubby. 5. Geranium 
anemonefolium, dr fmooth crane’s-bill: leaves palmate; 
leaflets pinnatifid; ftem flirubby. The whole plant is 
remarkably fmooth, whence it had originally the name 
of lavigatum. From a thick root arifes a very fliort ftem, 
tlie thicknefs of a finger, and fucculent, whence fpring 
branches two feet long, with very long Icaflefs inter¬ 
nodes. Native of Madeira ; introduced by Maflbn in 
1778 ; flowers from May to September. 
6. Geranium macrorhizum, or long-rooted crane’s- 
bill: calyxes inflated ; petals entire; piftil very long; 
fcape dichotomoiis. Root perennial, the thicknefs of a 
finger, becoming woody, dark purple on the outride, 
round, lingle, or branciied, having many long, round, 
thickifli fibres. Hence Iprings a bundle of leaves, and 
feveral almoft upright ftems or rather fcapes. Thefe 
are all very loft and fmooth, like the leaves of marfli- 
mallow, with a very fliort clofe down. Flowers large, 
elegant, deep red, or bright purple. Tlie whole plant, 
when rubbed, emits an agreeable odour. Native ot Italy. 
Cultivated in the botanic garden at Oxford in 1658, It 
flowers in May and June. 
III. Peduncles two-flowered, perennial. 7. Gera¬ 
nium canefeens, or lilky-leaved crane’s-bill; leaves lub- 
peltate, five-parted, canefeent underneath, lobes gaflied; 
petals emarginate. Native of the Cape, where it was 
obferved by Maflbn; flowers in May and June. 
8. Geranium iiicanum, or hoary crane’s-bill: calyxes 
awned ; petals entire; arils hirfute ; leaves i'ubdigitate, 
pinnatifid. Native of the Cape of Good Hope ; culti¬ 
vated in 1704, by the duchefs of Beaufort. 
9. Geranium tuberofuni, or tuberous-rooted crane’s- 
bill : leaves many-parted ; fegments linear, fubdivided, 
obtufe. Native of Italy and Silefia; cultivated in 1596, 
by Gerarde ; flowers in May. 
10. Geranium phacum, or dark-flowered crane’s-bill; 
peduncles folitary, opporite to the Ic.ives; calyxes ilight- 
ly awned; ftem eredt; petals waved. Stems upright, 
nearly cylindrical, from eighteen inches to two and 
even three feet in lieight, below woolly, and having a 
few long Ihining hairs on them; joints large, commonly 
tinged with red. Leaves foft, the younger ones lilky, 
ribbed; the lower on long petioles in pairs, the upper 
folitary; lobes moftly five, unequally tootlied, the la¬ 
teral ones lobed ; the lower leaves have frequently fix 
or feven lobes, and the uppermolt only three or four. 
Native of Swilferland, Hungary, Styria, and England, 
about Clapham, and Ingleton in Yorklhhe, and 'Ibvel 
near Maidftone. 
11. Geranium fufeum, or brown crane’s-bill : pedun¬ 
cles two-floweied, oppolite to the leaves, in pairs; Item 
patulous; petals quite entire. Linnaeus feparates this 
unwillingly from tlie preceding, with which it agrees 
in many circumftances, and particularly in having the 
whole corolla I'pread out, and dark-coloured. It dift'ers, 
however, in having the leaves rigid, the corolla more 
reflex and fmaller, the petals fuburbiculate, nuicronate, 
quite entile, flat, the pedtincles not lolitary, two-flow¬ 
ered, but two diftinct. Native of the South of Europe. 
12. Geranium rbflexum, or purple-flowered crane’s, 
bill L peduncles and leaves alteimalej petals reflex, la. 
ciuiiited., 
