Pelargoniums

The genus Pelargonium belongs to the Geraniaceae family. It counts more than 200 species, most of them come from South Africa. Some species grow in East Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Madagascar and on the Saint Helena and Tristan de Cunha in the South Atlantic. The name Pelargonium comes from the greek word "pelargos" which means stork, in reference to the shape of the fruit that looks like a stork’s nozzle.

The Pelargonium present a great variability as for their leaves as for their habit; this is due to the diversity of their living places : arborescent forms in the opened zones, herbaceous in the undergrowth, succulent on the seaside or semi-desert conditions. The South African shrubs that were introduced in Europe during the 17^th century are the ancestors of the very popular ornamental cultivars for gardens and balconies.

The Pelargonium collection presents 120 botanical species and as many cultivars : Pelargonium for beds (P. X hortorum), Pelargonium for balconies (P. X hederaefolium), Pelargonium for pots (P. X domesticum) and Pelargonium descended from crossbreeds between some species or cultivars and P. fulgidum (P. X unique)

Warning : don’t mistake Pelargonium with Geranium !

The Pelargonium are often called Geranium. The botanical name Geranium is reserved for a botanical genus counting some 400 species that mainly come from the Northern hemisphere. The mistake between the two genera is due to their former name, the both genera were called Geranium until 1789, when the botanist L’Heritier made the difference. It is easy to distinguish a Pelargonium from a Geranium looking at the shape of the flower :

• Geranium : regular flower : the petals are all the same, 10 fertile stamens
• Pelargonium : irregular flower : the 2 petals on the top are different from the 3 others, less than 10 fertile stamens

Most of the Pelargonium are fragrant…

The genus Pelargonium arrived to a great diversity of fragrances. The fragrance is diffused by secreting hairs on the leaves surface. Rumpling a leaf is sufficient to free a smell remembering apple(P. odoratissumum), rose (P. radens, P. graveolens, P. capitatum), nutmeg (P. fragrans), coconut (P. grossularioides), mint (P. tomentosum), lemon (P. crispum)…

It is possible to use the leaves of Pelargonium for many things : pomades, cosmetics …and even condiments!