Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Geraniales

Geraniaceae - Geranium family

Mueller, T. (1963) Geraniaceae Flora Zambesiaca 2(1)

Description of the family

Herbs, shrubs or suffrutices. Stipules present. Leaves alternate or opposite. Inflorescences usually axillary, sometimes pseudumbellate. Flowers bisexual, 5-merous. Sepals 5, free, but in Pelargonium the upper one with a spur fused to the pedicel. Petals 5, free, rarely 0. Ovary superior, 3-5-locular, beaked (in ours). Fruit a dry 5-celled schizocarp with 1 seed per cell, each mericarp and its apical sterile beak separating from the column and splitting open at maturity in various ways.

Worldwide: 11 genera and 700 species, mainly temperate with few tropical.

Zimbabwe: 3 genera and 13 taxa.

Insects associated with this family:
Cacyreus palemon (Water bronze) Food plant
Geranium incanum subsp. nyassense

Links to genera:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

GenusContent
Geranium L.Description, Image
Monsonia L.Description, Image
Pelargonium L'Hér. ex AitonDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Geraniaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Geraniaceae
Flora of Burundi: Geraniaceae
Flora of Caprivi: Geraniaceae
Flora of the DRC: Geraniaceae
Flora of Malawi: Geraniaceae
Flora of Mozambique: Geraniaceae
Flora of Rwanda: Geraniaceae
Flora of Zambia: Geraniaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Geraniaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Geraniaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Geraniaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Geraniaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Geraniaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Geraniaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Geraniaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Geraniaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Geraniaceae
Wikipedia: Geraniaceae
Plants of the World Online: Geraniaceae
Tropicos: Geraniaceae



Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Family page: Geraniaceae.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/family.php?family_id=91, retrieved 6 December 2024

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