pelargonium

American  

[pel-ahr-goh-nee-uhm, -er-] / ˌpɛl ɑrˈgoʊ ni əm, -ər- /

noun

1. any plant of the genus Pelargonium, the cultivated species of which are usually called geranium.

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pelargonium British  

/ ˌpɛləˈɡəʊnɪəm /

noun

1. any plant of the chiefly southern African geraniaceous genus Pelargonium, having circular or lobed leaves and red, pink, or white aromatic flowers: includes many cultivated geraniums

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Etymology

Origin of pelargonium

1810–20; < New Latin < Greek pelargó ( s ) stork + ( gerá ) nion geranium

Example Sentences

This same flashy color pattern decorates the fancy-leaved Pelargonium `Miss Burdett-Coutts’, so colorful it is best grown alone in a pot, its red flowers nipped off.

From Seattle Times

This variety, Pelargonium citronella, has a citrus scent, but there are many others with aromas including chocolate and mint.

From Los Angeles Times

The plant commonly known as a geranium, he explains, is actually a pelargonium, a different genus entirely.

From New York Times

It’s a hot July day and we’re standing in a large and slightly clammy greenhouse that contains more than 120 pelargonium species, a collection that belongs to Carole Bamford, the founder of the pioneering British brand Daylesford Organic.

From New York Times

Unsurprisingly, then, the scent many of us know as geranium — mossy, deeply green and medicinal — is, in fact, extracted from the leaves of pelargonium graveolens.

From New York Times