Pelargonium inquinans

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Pelargonium inquinans
Pelargonium inquinans (Geraniaceae) plant.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Geraniales
Family: Geraniaceae
Genus: Pelargonium
Species:
P. inquinans
Binomial name
Pelargonium inquinans
(L.) L'Hér. (1789)
Synonyms [1]
  • Ciconium cerinumSweet (1823)
  • Ciconium inquinans(L.) Hoffmanns. (1824)
  • Ciconium lavaterifoliumEckl. & Zeyh. (1835)
  • Ciconium urenifoliumEckl. & Zeyh. (1835)
  • Geraniospermum inquinans(L.) Kuntze (1891)
  • Geranium inquinansL. (1753)
  • Pelargonium cerinumDC. (1824)
  • Pelargonium lavaterifolium(Eckl. & Zeyh.) F.Dietr. (1837)
  • Pelargonium urenifolium(Eckl. & Zeyh.) Steud. (1840)

Pelargonium inquinans, the scarlet geranium, [2] is a species of plant in the genus Pelargonium (family Geraniaceae). It is a shrub endemic to South Africa, ranging from Mpumalanga to KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. [1] It is one of the ancestors of the hybrid line of horticultural pelargoniums, referred to as the zonal group. They can easily be propagated by seeds and cuttings.

Contents

Etymology and history

The generic name Pelargonium in scientific Latin derives from the Greek pelargós (πελαργός), which means the stork and the shape of their fruit evoking the beak of the wader. The specific epithet "messy" derives from the Latin verb inquino "dirty, soil" because the leaves leave a brown trace on the fingers when touched.

The Pelargonium inquinans was grown in the garden of the Bishop of London, Henry Compton, an admirer of exotic plants. In 1713, when he died, Pelargonium inquinans was found in his collection. The first illustration from 1732 was made from a plant growing in the garden of British botanist James Sherard. Many hybrids have been derived from this species, but the true wild species can be recognized by its red glandular hairs.

Description

Pelargonium inquinans, (Geranium Afric. arborescens), Johann Jacob Dillenius Hortus Elthamensis 1732 P inquinans Dillenius.jpg
Pelargonium inquinans, (Geranium Afric. arborescens), Johann Jacob Dillenius Hortus Elthamensis 1732

In the wild, Pelargonium inquinans is a small shrub, about 2 m tall, branched, with young succulent twigs becoming woody with age, bearing red glandular hairs.

The evergreen leaves, borne by long petioles, are orbicular (like Pelargonium × hortorum but without dark markings), incised in 5 to 7 crenate lobes, with a viscous pubescence, giving a cottony appearance to both sides. To the touch, the leaves stain the fingers brown rust.

The scarlet red flowers, sometimes pink or white, are grouped by 10 to 20 in pseudo-umbels. They are bilateral symmetry (zygomorph) with the 2 upper petals may be a little smaller than the 3 lower petals. Stamens and style are exerted. The filaments of the seven fertile stamens join over most of their length.

In South Africa flowering is spread throughout the year.

The pericardial fruit is composed of 5 capsules terminated by a long, hairy, twisted curl at maturity.

Distribution

The pelargonium with scarlet flowers grows in the Eastern Cape, Uitenhage, Albany and Caffirland, south of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

It grows on clay soils, like Pelargonium × hortorum .

Hybrid

Pelargonium inquinans and Pelargonium zonale are generally considered the two main wild ancestors of the zonal group of horticultural pelargoniums, commonly referred to as "florist geraniums" or "zoned leaf hybrid pelargoniums". In botany, the name Pelargonium × hortorum L.H. Bailey is accepted.

These two species were introduced in the great gardens of Europe at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Uses

Indigenous people use crushed leaves for headache and influenza. They are also used as a body deodorant.

Related Research Articles

<i>Geranium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Geraniaceae

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, with the greatest diversity in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraniaceae</span> Family of plants

Geraniaceae is a family of flowering plants placed in the order Geraniales. The family name is derived from the genus Geranium. The family includes both the genus Geranium and the garden plants called geraniums, which modern botany classifies as genus Pelargonium, along with other related genera.

<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>Pelargonium radens</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Pelargonium graveolens</i> Species of plant

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<i>Rosa moyesii</i> Species of flowering plant

Rosa moyesii is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to western China. Growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall by 3 m (10 ft) wide, it is a vigorous deciduous shrub, with plentiful matte green leaves and flat red or pink flowers, with yellow central stamens, in summer. These are followed in autumn (fall) by prominent bottle-shaped rose-hips.

<i>Pelargonium sidoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Pelargonium sidoides is a plant native to South Africa, Eswatini, and Lesotho. Its common names include African geranium and South African geranium. The current conservation status is Least concern.

<i>Ligustrum ovalifolium</i> Species of plant

Ligustrum ovalifolium, also known as Korean privet, California privet, garden privet, and oval-leaved privet, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae. The species is native to Japan and Korea.

<i>Myrtus communis</i> Species of flowering plant

Myrtus communis, the common myrtle or true myrtle, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Macaronesia, and the Indian Subcontinent, and also cultivated.

<i>Ribes speciosum</i> Species of flowering plant

Ribes speciosum is a species of flowering plant in the family Grossulariaceae, which includes the edible currants and gooseberries. It is a spiny deciduous shrub with spring-flowering, elongate red flowers that resemble fuchsias, though it is not closely related. Its common name is fuchsia-flowered gooseberry. It is native to central and southern California and Baja California, where it grows in the scrub and chaparral of the coastal mountain ranges.

<i>Pelargonium peltatum</i> Scrambling perennial plant in the family Geraniaceae from southern and eastern South Africa

Pelargonium peltatum is a scrambling perennial plant with five shallow or deeply lobed, circular- to heart-shaped, somewhat fleshy leaves, sometimes with a differently coloured semicircular band, that has been assigned to the cranesbill family. It carries umbel-like inflorescences with 2–10, white to mauve, bilateral symmetrical flowers, each with a "spur" that is merged with the flower stalk. It is known by several common names including ivy-leaved pelargonium and cascading geranium. It is native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. In its home range, it flowers year round but most vigorously from August to October.

<i>Pelargonium quercifolium</i> Species of flowering 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.

<i>Pelargonium vitifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Pelargonium vitifolium is a species of geranium known by the common name grapeleaf geranium. It is a shrub endemic to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. it is a commonly grown ornamental plant. This is a mostly erect, branching shrub approaching one meter in maximum height. The stems are soft and coated in soft hairs when young and become more woody with age. The glandular, stiffly-hairy aromatic leaves are about 6 centimeters long and 8 wide, divided into 5 or 7 toothed, heart-shaped lobes. The inflorescence is a dense umbel of several flowers with five petals each around a centimeter long. The flowers are pink with purplish markings.

<i>Pelargonium capitatum</i> Species of plant

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.

<i>Pelargonium cucullatum</i> A plant in the Geraniaceae from South Africa

Pelargonium cucullatum is a hairy, upright, branching, perennial shrub, of 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) high, that has been assigned to the cranesbill family. It sprouts new stems from the underground rootstock and becomes woody at its base. It has alternately set, sometimes slightly succulent leaves crowded near the top of the branches, with leaf stalks and flat to hood-shaped leaf blades, with a rounded broad triangular to kidney-shaped outline of about 4–5.5 cm long and 5–9 cm wide, often somewhat incised, the margin with irregular teeth. The white to purplish red, 5-merous, somewhat mirror symmetrical flowers grow in umbel-like clusters, and each contain mostly 7 fertile stamens and 3 infertile staminodes of different length. P. cucullatum has been cultivated as a garden ornamental and house plant since the 17th century. It has been used to breed many modern pelargonium hybrids, notably the Regal pelargoniums. It is called hooded-leaf pelargonium or herba althaea in English and wildemalva in Afrikaans.

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

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.

<i>Pelargonium zonale</i> Species of flowering plant

Pelargonium zonale is a species of Pelargonium native to southern Africa in the western regions of the Cape Provinces, in the geranium family. It is one of the parents of the widely cultivated plant Pelargonium × hortorum, often called "geranium", "horseshoe geranium", "zonal geranium" or "zonal pelargonium".

<i>Pelargonium coronopifolium</i> Subshrub in the family Geraniaceae from western South Africa

Pelargonium coronopifolium is a subshrub of up to 40 cm high. It has green to slightly greyish, linear to narrowly elliptical leaves often with irregular teeth towards the tip and white to purple flowers in groups of one to four. It can be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Old publications suggested the name buck's horn plantain-leaved stork's bill, but this name never gained common use.

<i>Pelargonium triste</i> Species of flowering plant

Pelargonium triste, is a geophyte with flowering stems of about 25 cm (9.8 in) high on average, that is assigned to the Stork's bill family. It has hairy, divided and softly feathered leaves that are about twice as long as wide, resemble carrot leaves, and emerge from the tuberous rootstock directly at ground level. The bracts on the flowering stems are usually much smaller than the leaves at ground level. It carries inconspicuous, star-shaped flowers, each with a "spur" that is merged with the flower stalk, with five free green sepals, 5 pale yellow petals, 10 filaments, only 7 of them initially carrying an anther and a style with 5 curved branches. The flowers are crowded in umbels, and mostly there are slight to intense maroon to black markings that may be small or cover the entire petal except for a narrow line along the margins. In the evening, the flowers start to smell like cloves. Flowers may be found practically year round, but most proficiently from September to December. As typical for many species in the Stork's bill family, its fruits resemble the neck, head and bill of a stork. It is known as the night-scented pelargonium in English, kaneeltjie, pypkaneel or rooiwortel in Afrikaans and wit n/eitjie in the Khoi language.

References

  1. 1 2 Pelargonium inquinans (L.) L'Hér. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Pelargonium inquinans". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 21 September 2015.