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Pelargonium
or geranium ?
Pelargonium? or
pelargonium? or Geranium? or Geranium? or geranium?
What's in a Name?
What many gardeners know as a geranium is part of the Genus Pelargonium and not the Genus Geranium. This has caused confusion
for a long time. Linneus, the father of modern botanical nomenclature (description and
naming of all plants) separated the two Genera in the 18th century, but a few other
botanists were reluctant to change their views. They eventually did, but the double naming
was established. The lack of comunication between botanists and horticulturalists over the
years has reinforced the differencies in the two nameing paths of that time. Many
gardeners were led to beleive that the botanists view didn't matter for their garden and
greenhouse plants, but unfortuneately it does, if you want totalk about a specific plant
in a world of many thousands of forms. Most gardeners grow a few species of some Genus or
other, so then they would have to use the possibly different, botanically correct, naming
system. These days there is a lot more awareness of the need for accurate naming, but
commercial interests have pursuaded some to still use the name geranium for a Pelargonium,
without much of an attempt at trying to explain the problem. If they feel they will not
stay in business if they drop geranium this is understandable, then it is hoped that they
will make the effort to educate the public through their catalogues, and then one day the
problem will go away. There are ways of showing the difference, if, the internatioinal
rules for writing plant names are followed precisely.
The plants known as geraniums by most ordinary
gardeners around the English speaking world, grown in their gardens, houses or
conservatories, are the Zonal Pelargonium. It could also be used for the true Geranium,
a frost hardy plant of the garden. In the UK on the show bench a "geranium" used
to be the Zonal Pelargonium and a "pelargonium" the Regal (or Martha
Washington) Pelargonium.
The wild geraniums (wild and garden plant common name), are also called cranesbills (wild plant common name) in some
countries, and belong to the Genus Geranium (botanical, horticultural and garden name). The geraniums (garden plant common name) known to
most ordinary gardeners and as pelargoniums (wild and garden plant common name) to a growing number of gardeners,
horticulturalists and Judges, are part of the Pelargonium (botanical, horticultural and garden name) Genus. Where plants of both
Genera are being refered to you do need a way to distinguishing between them and that is
where the correct Genus name solves your problem.
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