Pelargonium odoratissimum | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Geraniales |
Family: | Geraniaceae |
Genus: | Pelargonium |
Subgenus: | Pelargonium subg. Reniformia |
Species: | P. odoratissimum |
Binomial name | |
Pelargonium odoratissimum (L.) L'Hér. | |
Pelargonium odoratissimum is a pelargonium species native to South Africa. [1] [2] It is also known as the apple geranium or apple pelargonium due to the distinct apple scent. It is in the subgenus Reniforme along with Pelargonium sidoides and Pelargonium exstipulatum .
Pelargonium comes from the Greek; Pelargos which means stork. Another name for pelargoniums is storksbills due to the shape of their fruit. Odoratissimum refers to the highly scented leaves.
Pelargonium odoratissimum is a small, spreading species which only grows up to 30 cm high and 60 cm wide. It has small pale pink flowers and its leaves are waxy, green and ovate.
There are quite a few cultivars and hybrids of Pelargonium odoratissimum. These cultivars and hybrids include:
As well as being a houseplant or outdoor perennial depending on climate, Pelargonium odoratissimum other uses. It is used for its astringent, tonic and antiseptic effects. It is used internally for debility, gastroenteritis, and hemorrhage and externally for skin complaints, injuries, and neuralgia and throat infections. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy and has a delicious apple aroma. It is also used to balance the hormonal system, menstrual flow, and clean the body of toxins.
In Cyprus the leaves are used to flavour cake and pastry syrups. It also sometimes preserved and eaten as a spoon sweet (glyko tou koutaliou).
Spearmint, also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is a species of mint, Mentha spicata (, native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many other temperate parts of the world, including northern and southern Africa, North America, and South America. It is used as a flavouring in food and herbal teas. The aromatic oil, called oil of spearmint, is also used as a flavoring and sometimes as a scent.
Eggplant, aubergine, brinjal, or baigan (GY) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Solanum melongena is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Malus is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples and wild apples.
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.
Basil (, ; Ocimum basilicum, also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae. It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also known as sweet basil or Genovese basil. Basil is native to tropical regions from Central Africa to Southeast Asia. In temperate climates basil is treated as an annual plant, however, basil can be grown as a short-lived perennial or biennial in warmer horticultural zones with tropical or Mediterranean climates.
Potpourri is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. It is often placed in a decorative bowl.
Pelargonium radens, the rasp-leaf pelargonium is a species of Pelargonium. It is in the subgenus Pelargonium along with Pelargonium crispum and Pelargonium tomentosum.
The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), is a guide to the rules and regulations for naming cultigens, plants whose origin or selection is primarily due to intentional human activity. It is also known as Cultivated Plant Code. Cultigens under the purview of the ICNCP include cultivars, Groups, and grexes. All organisms traditionally considered to be plants are included. Taxa that receive a name under the ICNCP will also be included within taxa named under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, for example, a cultivar is a member of a species.
Pelargonium graveolens is a Pelargonium species native to the Cape Provinces and the Northern Provinces of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Siling labuyo is a small chili pepper cultivar that developed in the Philippines after the Columbian Exchange. It belongs to the species Capsicum frutescens and is characterized by triangular fruits which grow pointing upwards. The fruits and leaves are used in traditional Philippine cuisine. The fruit is pungent, ranking at 80,000 to 100,000 heat units in the Scoville Scale.
Dracaena fragrans, is a flowering plant species that is native throughout tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d'Ivoire and southwest to Angola, growing in upland regions at 600–2,250 m (1,970–7,380 ft) altitude. It is also known as striped dracaena, compact dracaena, and corn plant.
Pelargonium quercifolium is a species of geranium known by the common name oakleaf geranium or oak-geranium. It is native to South Africa, and it is a commonly grown ornamental plant. It is in the subgenus pelargonium along with Pelargonium crispum and Pelargonium tomentosum.
Pelargonium capitatum is one of several species known as rose geranium or rose-scented pelargonium in English. The popular names refer to the scent of the essential oils extracted from glandular tissue, not the flowers, which have hardly any scent to speak of. Some of the species are known as kusmalva in Afrikaans.
Pelargonium × hortorum, commonly called zonal geranium, or garden geranium, is a nothospecies of Pelargonium most commonly used as an ornamental plant. It is a hybrid between Pelargonium zonale and Pelargonium inquinans. They are the group of Pelargonium cultivars, with leaves marked with a brown annular zone and inflorescence in the form of large balls of tight flowers, usually red, pink, or white. These are the most common geraniums of garden centers and florists, sold in pots for windowsills and balconies or planted in flowerbeds.
Pelargonium crispum is a Pelargonium species native to the Western Cape Province, South Africa. It is in the subgenus Pelargonium along with Pelargonium graveolens and Pelargonium capitatum and Pelargonium tomentosum.
Pelargonium tomentosum, the peppermint-scented geranium, is a pelargonium species native to South Africa. It is in the subgenus Pelargonium along with Pelargonium graveolens, Pelargonium crispum and Pelargonium capitatum.
Pelargonium × fragrans is a pelargonium hybrid between Pelargonium odoratissimum and Pelargonium exstipulatum. It is in the subgenus Reniforme along with Pelargonium sidoides and Pelargonium abrotanifolium.
Pelargonium exstipulatum is a pelargonium species native to South Africa. It is in the subgenus Reniforme along with Pelargonium odoratissimum and Pelargonium sidoides.
Pelargonium cordifolium is a plant endemic to the fynbos region of the Southern Cape of South Africa.
Pelargonium album is a species of flowering plant of the genus Pelargonium. This species is native to South Africa. It is an apple/mint scented pelargonium which is very closely related to Pelargonium odoratissimum. It is in the subgenus reniforme along with Pelargonium sidoides and P. exstipulatum.