Geranium macrorrhizum

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Geranium macrorrhizum
Geranium macrorrhizum flowers.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Geraniales
Family: Geraniaceae
Genus: Geranium
Species:
G. macrorrhizum
Binomial name
Geranium macrorrhizum
L.

Geranium macrorrhizum is a species of hardy flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Geranium, family Geraniaceae. It is native to the South east Alps and the Balkans. [1] Its common names include bigroot geranium, [2] Bulgarian geranium, [2] and rock crane's-bill. [3]

It has five-lobed (palmate) leaves that are aromatic when crushed, with pale pink flowers in summer. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, where it is used as a flowering groundcover, with named cultivars selected for flower colors from white through pink to magenta. The cultivars 'Ingwersen's Variety' (pale pink) [4] and 'White-ness' [5] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [6]

The plant has been used in traditional herbal medicine. [7] The name for all types of geraniums in general in the Bulgarian language is derived from the word здрав, which can translate as 'healthy', among a few related concepts. An essential oil from it is also used in aromatherapy. In addition to oils, it contains flavonoids, sesquiterpenes, phenolic acids, pigments, vitamins, and mineral salts.[ citation needed ]

One of the many components of the essential oil is the sesquiterpene ketone germacrone, which has been shown to have a high and selective antimicrobial activity against the species Bacillus subtilis . [7]


Related Research Articles

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Geranium is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.

<i>Geranium cinereum</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium cinereum, the ashy cranesbill, is a species of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to the Pyrenees. Growing to 50 cm (20 in) tall and wide, it is a small, deciduous or semi-evergreen perennial usually grown for low ground cover, rockeries or underplanting larger subjects like roses. Leaves are deeply divided and grey-green - whence The Latin specific epithet cinereum “ash-grey”. It flowers in summer, with striking black-eyed flowers with black stamens. The plant grows in full sunlight, and is hardy down to −15 °C (5 °F).

<i>Geranium maderense</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium maderense, known as giant herb-Robert or the Madeira cranesbill, is a species of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to the island of Madeira. It is sometimes confused with another Madeira endemic, Geranium palmatum.

<i>Pelargonium</i> Genus of plants

Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. Geranium is also the botanical name and common name of a separate genus of related plants, also known as cranesbills. Both genera belong to the family Geraniaceae. Carl Linnaeus originally included all the species in one genus, Geranium, and they were later separated into two genera by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1789.

<i>Hibiscus syriacus</i> Species of flowering plant

Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to Korea, and south-central and southeast China, but widely introduced elsewhere, including much of Asia. It was given the epithet syriacus because it had been collected from gardens in Syria. Common names include the rose of Sharon,, Syrian ketmia, shrub althea, and rose mallow. It is the national flower of South Korea and is mentioned in the South Korean national anthem.

<i>Nigella damascena</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Nigella damascena, love-in-a-mist, or devil in the bush, is an annual garden flowering plant, belonging to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is native to southern Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia, where it is found on neglected, damp patches of land.

<i>Scabiosa caucasica</i> Species of flowering plant

Scabiosa caucasica, the Caucasian pincushion flower, pincushion-flower or Caucasian scabious, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Caucasus, north eastern Turkey, and northern Iran. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) tall and broad, it is a clump-forming perennial with divided leaves. Pincushion-shaped buds, borne on erect stems, open to pale blue or lavender flower heads, 8 cm (3 in) in diameter, from late summer through to autumn.

<i>Erica carnea</i> Species of flowering plant

Erica carnea, the winter heath, winter-flowering heather, spring heath or alpine heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to mountainous areas of central, eastern and southern Europe, where it grows in coniferous woodlands or stony slopes.

<i>Lavandula angustifolia</i> Species of plant

Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean. Its common names include lavender, true lavender or English lavender ; also garden lavender, common lavender, and narrow-leaved lavender.

<i>Geranium sanguineum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae

Geranium sanguineum, common names bloody crane's-bill or bloody geranium, is a species of hardy flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the cranesbill family Geraniaceae. It is also the county flower of Northumberland.

<i>Geranium sylvaticum</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium sylvaticum, the wood cranesbill or woodland geranium, is a species of hardy flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to Europe and northern Turkey.

<i>Bistorta affinis</i> Species of plant

Bistorta affinis, the Himalayan bistort, fleece flower, or knotweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to the Himalayas.

<i>Geranium pratense</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium pratense, the meadow crane's-bill or meadow geranium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to Europe and Asia. Forming a clump roughly 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and broad, it is a herbaceous perennial with hairy stems and lax saucer-shaped blooms of pale violet. It is extremely hardy to at least −20 °C (−4 °F), reflecting its origins in the Altai Mountains of central Asia.

<i>Geranium endressii</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium endressii, commonly called Endres cranesbill or French crane's-bill, is a species of hardy flowering herbaceous or semi-evergreen perennial plant in the genus Geranium, family Geraniaceae.

<i>Geranium psilostemon</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium psilostemon, commonly called Armenian cranesbill, is a species of hardy flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Geranium, family Geraniaceae. It is native to Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation. Forming a large clump to 120 cm (47 in) tall, it has glowing reddish purple colored flowers with prominent dark centres, and divided leaves tinted red in Autumn. It is cultivated as a garden subject, and a number of different cultivars exist. G. psilostemon has the UK’s hardiest rating, surviving temperatures as low as −20 °C (−4 °F).

<i>Geranium subcaulescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium subcaulescens is a species of flowering plant in the geranium family Geraniaceae, that is native to Italy, Turkey and the Balkans. A low, mounded evergreen perennial, it typically grows to 8 in (20 cm) tall by more than 11 in (28 cm) broad, with grey-green orbicular and lobed leaves, and masses of bright magenta pink flowers with black centres in summer.

<i>Geranium renardii</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium renardii is a species of hardy flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Geranium, in the family Geraniaceae. It is native to the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia. Growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall and broad, it has palmate leaves and pale pink flowers striped violet. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

<i>Campanula lactiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula lactiflora, the milky bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Campanula of the family Campanulaceae, native to Turkey and the Caucasus. It is a medium-sized herbaceous perennial growing to 1.2 m, with narrow, toothed leaves 5–12 cm (2–5 in) long. Large conical clusters of open, star-shaped flowers are produced on branching stems in summer. In favourable conditions it will self-seed with variable results. The flowers are usually white or pale blue, but numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use, in a range of colours.

<i>Geranium <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> oxonianum</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium × oxonianum, the Oxford geranium, is a hybrid variety of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, which is a 1932 cross of garden origin between Geranium endressii and Geranium versicolor. Growing to 0.5 m (1.6 ft) tall by 1 m (3.3 ft), it is a highly variable plant with round palmate leaves and often veined flowers in various shades of pink. It can be invasive.

References

  1. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN   978-1405332965.
  2. 1 2 "Geranium macrorrhizum". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  3. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. "RHS Plant Selector - Geranium macrorrhizum 'Ingwersen's Variety'" . Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  5. "Geranium 'White-ness'". RHS. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  6. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 43. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  7. 1 2 Niko S Radulović, Milan S Dekić, Zorica Z Stojanović-Radić, Suad K Zoranić. Geranium macrorrhizum L. (Geraniaceae) essential oil: a potent agent against Bacillus subtilis. Chemistry biodiversity (2010). Volume: 7, Issue: 11, Pages: 2783-2800