Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/744

 732 GERANIUM the leaves are curiously dotted with minute black specks, the perithecia of a parasitic fun- gus (dotJiidea Robertianum). G. Carolinia- num, similar, with paler flowers and scentless foliage, erroneously supposed to be G, dissec- tum, occurs in waste places on barren soils, and is widely diffused. G. pusillum (small-flow- ered cranesbill), with slender stems, rounded, five-parted, kidney-formed leaves, and small bluish-purple petals, has been found in waste places in New York and Massachusetts. The last three are natives of Europe, naturalized in this country. Some exotic perennial species are cultivated in our gardens ; the commonest of these is G. sanguineum, a native of England, with deep crimson-purple flowers which bloom nearly all summer ; a variety of this is known as Q. Lancastriense. G.Ibericum, G.pratense, and a few others are also grown. The anemone- leaved geranium, G. anemonefolium, is a green- house species, with beautifully divided leaves, from the Cape of Good Hope. Geranium is the name popularly given to the species and varieties of pelargonium, so generally cultiva- ted. The genus pelargonium differs from ge- ranium in several characters, the most obvious of which are the half-shrubby character of the stems and the somewhat irregular flowers. One of the sepals or divisions of the calyx has its base prolonged, which runs down on one side of the pedicle or flower stalk as an adherent spur, as may be seen in a cross section of the pedicle ; the two petals nearest this sepal are often different from the others in size and shape ; stamens that bear anthers usually seven, always less than ten; pistil as in geranium. The name, as with geranium, is suggested by the fancied resemblance of the fruit to the bill of a bird, but in this case it is the stork in place of the crane (Gr. Tre/lapydf, a stork). There are no more popular tender plants than the vari- ous pelargoniums, whether for window culture, summer bedding plants, or choice ornaments to the conservatory and greenhouse. Though the name geranium applied to them is incorrect, it has become so firmly attached by long usage that no change is probable. As with many other plants that have been long in cultivation, the pelargoniums have become so mixed by hybrid- izing, crossing, and sporting, that it is generally difficult to determine the species from which they originated. The Cape of Gopd Hope has furnished a large majority of the species, a few only having come from Australia and elsewhere. A scientific classification being impracticable, it will serve our purpose to group them after the manner of the florist. The scented pelargo- niums include a number that have fragrant fo- liage and generally inconspicuous flowers. The best known is the rose geranium, P. capita- turn, which is probably the oldest species in cul- tivation, it having been carried to England in 1690; its lobed, downy, pleasantly scented leaves are well known ; there is a variety with the leaves edged with white. The peppermint geranium is P. tomentosum ; the nutmeg-scent- ed, P. odoratissimum ; and the pennyroyal- scented, P. exstipulatum. The ivy-leaved pe- largoniums form a very distinct group, distin- guished by their smooth, fleshy leaves, lobed like those of the ivy, and their weak and trailing stems; they are mainly derived from P. peltatum and P. lateripes. Within a few years great improvement has been made in this class, and they now present a great variety in foliage and flowers; their prostrate habit especially adapts them to cultivation in vases and hanging baskets. Florists' pelargoniums, or show pelargoniums as they are often called, have rounded leaves and flowers, often some- what irregular, of the greatest beauty of color and markings ; they have resulted from long- continued crossings, and their origin is so ob- scure that recent French writers name them all P. hortulanorum, the pelargonium of the gardeners. This class is only seen in perfec- tion in greenhouses, and it requires great care Scarlet Geranium (Pelargonium inquinans). and skill to make a fine show of them. We then have a large class that flower indoors in winter, and are turned out into the borders in summer, where they are used in masses to pro- duce fine effects by their flowers or foliage; the foliage of these has an unpleasant odor, and some of them are popularly known as fish geraniums. The old scarlet geranium, P. in- quinam, and the horseshoe geranium, P. zonale, are the principal species from which this class originated; the flowers range from white to the most dazzling scarlet and dark crimson ; of late a number with double flowers have been introduced ; their foliage is often highly orna- mental, it being variegated with white, yellow, pink, and other shades upon the green. The florists do not agree in their classification of these varieties ; their principal divisions are into nosegay, zonale, bronze-zoned, gold and silver