3c6 
Pelargonium-Oil. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1921. 
our  rose-geranium ;  but  I  am  not  sure  how  great  the  influence  of  P. 
capitatum  was  in  the  creation  of  this  variety.  In  the  work  quoted, 
there  is  found  also  another  pelargonium  closely  related  to  the  above- 
mentioned  variety  and  to  P.  capitatum,  and  which  bears  the  name  of 
P.  oxoniense,  because  it  had  first  been  cultivated  in  Oxford,  Eng- 
land. It  is  very  probable  that  the  parent  plant  of  the  rose-geranium 
was  originally  purchased  under  the  name  of  Oxoniense  roseum,  and 
that  this  name  came  to  be  misunderstood  in  the  course  of  time.  At 
any  rate,  from  what  has  been  said  it  follows  clearly  that  the  parent 
plant  was  an  English  product,  perhaps  from  Oxford,  that  it  is  re- 
lated to  P.  graveolens ;  perhaps  also  to  P.  capitatum,  and  that  it  was 
well  known  as  early  as  1805  on  account  of  its  rose-odor. 
It  is,  furthermore,  of  interest  that  in  the  above-mentioned  book 
there  is  a  plate  representing  an  hybrid  of  P.  graveolens  with  P. 
capitatum,  which  likewise  is  related  to  the  rose-geranium,  and  which 
has  variegated  leaves.  Andrews  classified  it  as  G.  capitatum  var.  and 
says  that  the  influence  of  P.  quercifolium  changed  P.  capitatum  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  cause  the  confusion  of  P.  quercifolium  and  P. 
graveolens.  It  is  very  interesting  that  in  the  work  of  Sweet  neither 
the  name  of  P.  graveolens  nor  that  of  rose-geranium  can  be  found. 
From  all  this  it  can  be  seen  that  there  exists  no  botanical  name 
for  the  plant.  In  literature  the  name  of  P.  roseum  Willd.  is  often 
found.  In  the  herbarium  of  this  author  there  are  two  identical 
plants  which  bear  the  names  of  P.  radula  var.  roseum  and  of  P. 
graveolens  var.  roseum,  both  corresponding  to  the  description  of 
Willdenow  in  Spec.  pi.  Ill  (1800),  page  679,  which  is  given  there 
under  the  name  of  P.  radula  /3  roseum.  This  plant,  according  to  his 
own  -words,  is  a  hybrid  of  P.  radula  and  P.  graveolens,  an  opinion 
which  seems  to  be  justified.  But  it  is  hardly  identical  with  the  rose- 
geranium,  as  I  was  inclined'  to  believe  before  this.1 
It  is  probable  that  in  France,  besides  the  rose-pelargonium,  there 
is  cultivated,  though  to  a  smaller  extent,  P.  odoratissimum  (L.)  Ait. 
and  P.  fragans  Willd.,  as  indicated  by  Heuze  (p.  306).  Both  plants 
are  different  from  the  rose-pelargonium  and  of  a  delicate  texture. 
P.  odoratissimum  belongs  to  the  section  of  Peristera  and  was  intro- 
duced into  England,  according  to  Sweet  (p.  299),  in  1724.    P.  fra- 
*I  dedicate  this  interesting  plant  (P.  Krappeanum  =?  P.  graveolens  Ait. 
■hybrid.)  to  my  friend,  Dr.  A.  H.  Krappe,  of  Indiana  University,  to  whom  I 
am  indebted  for  valuable  service 'in  the  composition  of  this  paper. 
