What's in a name?

The Pelargonium is commonly, and incorrectly, called a Geranium by us who speak English.

This habit of calling a plant by the wrong name traces way back to the 1700's, when a well known Swedish botanist, by the name Linneaus, grouped Geranium, Pelargoneum and Erodius as one genus - the Geranium. The three do share the characteristics of having a seed pod resembling that of a birds bill.

But, in terms of stamens and anthers, they are all different. So, French botanist Charles Léritier later separated them into different genera of the family Geraniaceae (derived from Geranium).

The three genus names were derived from the birds bill that their seed pod resembles.

In Greek;

pelargos=stork

geranos= crane

erodios= heron.

Pelargonium - storksbill

Geranium - cranesbill

Erodiums - heronsbill

Fascinating about these flowers is their nectar guides, located commonly on all petals, but sometimes only on the upper two petals. The nectar guides are the lines that guide towards the center of the flower. To see something amazing, click on naturfotograf.com to discover how the color-blind bee sees the flower. Their nectar guide looks a little different in infra red pictures.

If you have a problem with Japanese Beetles, you might find this research interesting that says that this plant leaves the beetle intoxicated for up to 18 hours after feeding on it.

I see a lot of Geraniums, I mean Pelargoniums, in my future for the summer. After reading the blog O so D, today, I got inspired to go out and hunt for some white ones. Just don't know what I should call them now.

Images from Wikipedia.org