#cranesbills

Michelle Taylor

Cranesbills

Flower Name: Geranium or cranesbills

Genus: Geranium

Family: Geraniaceae

Geraniums, or cranesbills, is divided up into 422 species being annual, biennial, or perennial. They are often found in temperate regions of the world and higher on mountains in tropical regions. The genus has five petals of a variety of colors, often times with veining in the colors. The leaves of the flowers are long, palmately cleft leaves, often with a circular form. Cranesbills can be grown in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged. Also, geranium is a common name of the genus pelargonium, which is in the same family, geraniaceae.

Uses/Extraneous Information:

Decoration: Geraniums are a very common flower found in gardens. They are hardy and many species are perennials, so they are very desirable to garden with when including their attractive looks into consideration. 

Essential Oil: There seems to be few studies, if any, on the benefits of geranium oil. But when the oil is extracted, from the pelargonium graveolens species, it is used in aroma therapy and massage therapy sessions. 

Citations:

"Pelargonium Graveolens." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelargonium_graveolens>.