 The common name ‘cranesbill’ comes from the shape of the unsprung column, which in some species is long and looks like the bill of a crane.However, many species in this genus do not have a long beak-like column.Confusingly, "geranium" is also the common name of members of the genus "Pelargonium", which are also in the family Geraniaceae and are widely grown as horticultural bedding plants.