Editing Geranium (section)

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{About|the botanical genus called ''Geranium''|the summer bedding "geranium"|Pelargonium|other uses}}
{{Distinguish|germanium}}
''' '''{{automatic taxobox
|image = Geranium February 2008-1.jpg
|image_caption = ''[[Geranium dissectum]]''
|taxon = Geranium
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = [[List of cranesbill species|See list.]]
}}

'''''Geranium''''' is a [[genus]] of 422 [[species]] of [[Annual plant|annual]], [[Biennial plant|biennial]], and [[Perennial plant|perennial]] [[plant]]s that are commonly known as '''geraniums''' or '''cranesbills'''. They are found throughout the [[temperateness|temperate]] regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the greatest diversity in the eastern part of the [[Mediterranean region]].<ref name="Allaby">{{cite book |last1=Allaby |first1=Michael |title=The Dictionary of Science for Gardeners: 6000 Scientific Terms Explored and Explained |date=26 August 2015 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-1-60469-483-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LrrDCQAAQBAJ&dq=Geranium+is+a+genus+of+422+species&pg=PA225 |access-date=5 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

The palmately cleft [[Leaf|leaves]] are broadly circular in form. The flowers have five petals and are coloured white, pink, purple, or blue, often with distinctive veining.<ref name="Allaby" /> Geraniums will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged.<ref name="Tibballs">{{Cite book |last=Tibballs |first=Geoff |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWK7DAAAQBAJ&dq=Geraniums+will+grow+in+any+soil+as+long+as+it+is+not+waterlogged&pg=PT31 |title=100 Plants That Won't Die in Your Garden |date=2017-03-09 |publisher=Little, Brown Book Group |isbn=978-1-4721-3800-2 |language=en}}</ref> [[Plant propagation|Propagation]] is by semiripe cuttings in summer, by seed, or by division in autumn or spring.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brickell |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-BgPoWCQowC&dq=Geraniums+propagation+semiripe+cuttings+in+summer&pg=PA584 |title=American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers |date=2011-08-15 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-7566-7508-0 |language=en}}</ref>

Geraniums are eaten by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[brown-tail]], [[ghost moth]], and [[mouse moth]]. At least several species of ''Geranium'' are [[gynodioecy|gynodioecious]].<ref>Hessing, M.B. 1989. ''Variation in self-fertility and floral characters of'' Geranium caespitosum ''(Geraniaceae) along an elevational gradient''. Plant Systematics and Evolution 166:225-241.</ref><ref>Van Etten and Chang 2014. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4649693/ ''Frequency-dependent pollinator discrimination acts against female plants in the gynodioecious'' Geranium maculatum] Annals of Botany 114:1769–1778</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/j.flora.2016.11.007| title=Prolonged stigma and flower lifespan in females of the gynodioecious plant Geranium sylvaticum| journal=Flora| volume=226| pages=72–81| year=2017| last1=Elzinga| first1=Jelmer A.| last2=Varga| first2=Sandra| bibcode=2017FMDFE.226...72E| s2cid=85558947| url=https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/123456789/52505/1/elzingavarga1s2.0s0367253016301694main.pdf}}</ref> The species ''[[Geranium viscosissimum]]'' (sticky geranium) is considered to be [[protocarnivorous]].<ref name="Spomer">{{Cite journal |last=Spomer |first=George G. |date=1999 |title=Evidence of Protocarnivorous Capabilities in Geranium viscosissimum and Potentilla arguta and Other Sticky Plants |url=http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/314109 |journal=International Journal of Plant Sciences |language=en |volume=160 |issue=1 |pages=98–101 |doi=10.1086/314109 |issn=1058-5893|url-access=subscription }}</ref>