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Pelargonium graveolens
Also called Rose Geranium, Rose Scent Geranium, Rose Scent Storksbill, Rose Scented Geranium, Rose Scented Pelargonium
In Singapore: Rose-Scented Geranium, Rose-scented Pelargonium (Grown in Singapore)
Pelargonium graveolens, the rose or sweet scented geranium, is an aromatic subshrub from southern Africa grown for its scented leaves and used in perfume, flavouring and aromatherapy. Its cultivars vary widely in scent and leaf shape, so choose a named one if you want a rose fragrance.
Pelargonium graveolens is a Pelargonium species native to the Cape Provinces and the Northern Provinces of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Common names include rose geranium, sweet scented geranium, old-fashioned rose geranium, and rose-scent geranium.
It is native to Mozambique and Zimbabwe in southern, tropical Africa, and South Africa (Cape Province, Transvaal). Pelargoniums have been cultivated in South Africa and Namibia for at least 200 years. The plant is also found in the Canary Islands, Corsica, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, southwestern Mexico, and Puerto Rico, where it has been introduced.
Both the true species and the cultivated plant may be called rose geranium – pelargoniums are often called geraniums, as they fall within the plant family Geraniaceae, and were previously classified in the same genus. The common P. 'Graveolens' or P. 'Rosat' has great importance in the perfume industry. It is cultivated on a large scale and its foliage is distilled for its scent. Pelargonium distillates and absolutes, commonly known as "geranium oil", are sold for aromatherapy and massage therapy applications. They are also sometimes used to supplement or adulterate more expensive rose oils. As a flavoring, the flowers and leaves are used in cakes, jams, jellies, ice creams, sorbets, salads, sugars, and teas. In addition, it is used as a flavoring agent in some pipe tobaccos, being one of the characteristic "Lakeland scents."
Sorrel Leaf Pelargonium · Hooded crane's bill · Large Flower Pelargonium · Zonal geranium · Scarlet geranium · Butterfly Storksbill · Hanging geranium · Rasp-leaf pelargonium · Black Pelargonium · Night Scent Pelargonium · Grapeleaf geranium · Geranium
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pelargonium graveolens by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
