Geraniaceae

Common Heron (Erodium cicutarium ), illustration.

The Geranium Family ( Geraniaceae ) are a family in the order of the pantograph -like ( Geraniales ) within the angiosperms. A few species and hybrids are used as ornamental plants. Some species are cultivated for the production of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

The most species-rich genera are Geranium (Geranium ), Pelargonium (Pelargonium ) and heron beaks ( Erodium ). Most species of the family are from temperate or warm climates, they are most common in southern Africa to find and are an important part of the Cape flora.

• 3.1 Branches

• 5.1 Notes and references

Description

Habitus and sheets

Most species grow as annuals or perennial herbaceous plants, rarely there are subshrubs or shrubs. Some species are succulent. They contain essential oils.

The upper leaves are usually alternate, the lower ones are usually arranged on opposite sides. The stalked, usually hairy leaves are simple or compound; usually lobed to divided. The stipules are deciduous leaf-shaped, scaly or prickly.

Inflorescence and flower

The flowers are usually individually or combined to many in axillary or terminal, simple or compound, or zymösen doldigen inflorescences. The inflorescences usually have long Blütenstandsschäfte and often contain bracts.

Usually the flowers are hermaphrodite, rarely unisexual; there are dioecious getrenntgeschlechtige ( dioecious ) species. The stalked, five petals are radial symmetry or zygomorphic with double perianth. The five sepals are usually free or at most grown Roehrig at their base. The five petals are usually free and nailed. There are usually one or two (rarely three) circles, each with five stamens present, usually all fertile or one to five are reduced to staminodes. The stamens are often fused at their base. Five carpels are fused into a superior ovaries. Only one or two ovules per carpel are present, which develops later, only one of them. The upper parts of the sterile carpel, are referred to as pen, have grown up to the top and form the "beak " with five scars. A discus is usually present, except in Pelargonium. There are (only for Pelargonium ) or five nectaries present, which are arranged differently depending on the species.

Fruit

At maturity, only the inner parts of the carpels remain as the center column. The outer parts below each enclosing a seed, reach for the sky. The fruit is a gap fruit that are five part -seeded fruit capsule fruits.

Naming

For all taxa located at the upper end of the fruit a narrow beak -like structure, which is why three of the genera and the family were named after langschnäbeligen birds ( Aves). The name of the genus Geranium is derived from the Greek word geranos for "crane " from Pelargonium comes from the Greek pelargos for " stork " and Erodium from the Greek Erodios for " heron ". In German, however, the genus Geranium as cranesbill geraniums and (Pelargonium ) is often referred to as geraniums. The latter is due to the fact that Linnaeus, on the nomenclature of flowering plants returns substantially, added counted the geraniums of the genus Geranium. Only when many South African Pelargoniums were introduced in the 18th century, the famous amateur botanist Charles Louis L' Héritier de Brut Elle was able to prevail so that Pelargonium was recognized as a distinct genus. In colloquial usage, however, the name " geranium " for the species of pelargonium had at that time already naturalized. One of the differences between the two genera: Geranium has radiärsymmetrische flowers and Pelargonium has zygomorphe flowers.

Radiärsymmetrische flowers of Geranium cinereum.

Flowers of Pelargonium zonal diagram.

System

For some authors, the types of Biebersteiniaceae that Dirachmaceae that Ledocarpaceae and Vivianiaceae be expected to cranesbill family ( Geraniaceae ).

Genera

The family contains five to six genera with 750-805 species. They differ for example in the number of fertile stamens per flower.

• . Alda California, Navarro, Vargas, Sáez & Aedo, with only one type: California macrophylla Alda, Navarro, Vargas, Sáez & Aedo. , You only inhabited western North America. She has radiärsymmetrische flowers.

More images

Flowers of Erodium manescavi.

Habitat, habit, flower and fruit of Erodium texanum.

Blooms of Sarcocaulon crassicaule.

Swell

• The Geraniaceae in APWebsite family. ( Section systematics)
• The Geraniaceae at DELTA family. ( Description section )
• Langran Xu & Carlos Aedo: Geraniaceae in the Flora of China, Volume 11, p 8: Online. ( Description section )
• Omar Fiz, Pablo Vargas, Marisa Alarcón, Carlos Aedo, José Luis García and Juan José Aldasoro: Phylogeny and Historical Biogeography of Geraniaceae in Relation to Climate Changes and Pollination Ecology in Systematic Botany, 33 (2 ), 2008, pp. 326-342.

Doi: 10.1600/036364408784571482 ( section systematics and description)