Friday, April 20, 2012

Geranium robertianum

Exquisite leaves of Geranium robertianum.

Geranium robertianum, commonly known as Herb Robert, is an annual (or biennial) plant, native to Europe and the Mediterranean basin, that has been introduced into many other temperate parts of the world. It can be found growing at altitudes of up to 1,500 m. The palmate leaves are fern-like, and the stems are reddish. The whole plant is hairy, and turns deep reddish when mature in the summer. The flowers have five pink petals with a striped appearance.
The plant gives off a distinctive geranium, grounding odor; leaves rubbed on the body are said to repel mosquitoes. It is also the source of a brown dye.

Geranium robertianum is a remarkably beautiful geranium species, and it is also a very distinctive one, despite its shocking similarity to Geranium purpureum.
There seems to have been some taxonomic confusion between the two species, to the point some botanists consider G. purpureum to be a subspecies of G. robertianum. The most apparent difference is found when comparing the flowers: -- G. robertianum has more pale-pink, striped looking flowers, with larger and broader petals, whereas -- G. purpureum has simple and smaller, striking pink flowers with orange-yellow anthers and pollen, that are very similar to those of G. lucidum.
Also, G. purpureum occurs more frequently in lowland situations close to the sea.
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11.11.2011 to 12.12.2012a one year plant + art showcasea one year study of the familiar

A look at the realm of plants, in and around Thessaloniki, plants that we all must have seen somewhere, and passed by hurriedly without paying any close attention...if we asked them their names, we could greet them when we meet them again on our way...__________________