Geranium pratense

Geranium pratense
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Geraniales
Family:	Geraniaceae
Genus:	Geranium
Species:	G. pratense
Binomial name
	Geranium pratense; L.

Geranium pratense, the meadow crane's-bill^[1] or meadow geranium,^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to Europe and Asia.^[3] Forming a clump roughly 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and broad, it is a herbaceous perennial with hairy stems and lax saucer-shaped blooms of pale violet. It is extremely hardy to at least −20 °C (−4 °F), reflecting its origins in the Altai Mountains of central Asia.^[4]

The leaves are deeply divided into 7-9 lobes and 3-6 inch wide and the flowers are pale blue, although getting paler into the centre. The flowers have 5 petals, which sometimes have veins. The stamens have pink-purple stalks with dark purple anthers.

Several cultivars are available for garden use, of which 'Mrs Kendall Clark'^[5] and 'Plenum violaceum'^[6] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[7]

'Mrs Kendal Clark'

References

^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
^ "Geranium pratense". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
^ Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 521 04656 4
^ Brickell, Christopher, ed. (2008). The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 476. ISBN 9781405332965.
^ "RHS Plant Selector - Geraium pratense 'Mrs Kendal Clark'". Retrieved 11 July 2020.
^ "RHS Plant Selector - Geranium pratense 'Plenum violaceum'". Retrieved 11 July 2020.
^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 42. Retrieved 2 March 2018.