Ivy-Leaved Geranium – The Daily Flower for 18 July

What links Crocodiles, Snow Queens and Summer Showers? Well, to themselves, a couple of short stalks spreading like umbrella ribs from a stem – but, to one another, the fact that they’re all varieties of Pelargonium peltatum, the ivy-leaved geranium.

Ivy leaf geraniums by bc anna

These South African natives get their botanical name from the Greek word for stork (the fruits resemble a crane’s bill) and the Latin for shield (take a look at the ivy-shaped leaves). It’s the flowers, however, that are the most striking. The cascades of maroon, mauve or pinkish flowers have such an intensity of hue that they are used as a pigment to make an indigo dye, while essential oils popular in perfumeries are extracted from the petals.

You can even eat the flowers, if you like a bit of a bite to your bites, or wish to freshen the breath. The acidity also makes the flowers a welcome astringent for greasy skin. In floriography, ivy-leaved geraniums connote ‘save the next dance for me’ – perhaps dropped off as a kind of ballroom queue ticket by prospective waltzers with dodgy complexions and halitosis before they themselves popped off to freshen up with their own stem of pelargonium.

Good for giving to: Spotty teenagers and anyone with whom you fancy taking a turn on the floorboards.

Great geraniums in literature: They seem all to be rather unremarkable, really – and mostly used to describe a touch of colour added to a lapel. Jane Austen’s characters find them rather inspirational, however:

“To this nest of comforts Fanny now walked down to […] see if […] by giving air to her geraniums she might inhale a breeze of mental strength herself. ”
Mansfield Park

Find out more about The Daily Flower series and floriography.

Tags: flowers, geranium, pelargonium,floriography