Pelargonium zonale

Pelargonium zonale
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Geraniales
Family:	Geraniaceae
Genus:	Pelargonium
Species:	P. zonale
Binomial name
Pelargonium zonale (L.) L'Hér. ex Aiton
Synonyms
Ciconium clarum Hoffmanns. Ciconium cocciniflorum Hoffmanns. Ciconium densiflorum Eckl. & Zeyh. Ciconium leucanthum Hoffmanns. Ciconium rosula Hoffmanns. Ciconium stenopetalum Hoffmanns. Ciconium zonale (L.) Hoffmanns. Geraniospermum zonale (L.) Kuntze Geranium marginatum Cav. Geranium zonale L.

This article is about a wild species found in southern Africa. For cultivated plants known as "zonal pelargoniums" or "zonal geraniums", see Pelargonium § Zonal Pelargoniums.

Pelargonium zonale, known as horse-shoe pelargonium or wildemalva in Afrikaans, is a wild species of Pelargonium native to southern Africa, belonging to the geranium family, Geraniaceae. It is one of the parents of the widely cultivated plant Pelargonium × hortorum, often called a "geranium", "zonal geranium" or "zonal pelargonium".

Description

Pelargonium zonale is an upright or scrambling shrub, normally growing to about 1 m (3 ft) in height but potentially up to 3 m (10 ft). Its stems are succulent, hairy when young becoming woody with age. The leaves often have a dark mark shaped like a horseshoe, giving rise to both the scientific and common name. The flowers are borne in an umbel; individual flowers are markedly zygomorphic. The petals vary from white through rose to red. In its native habitat, Pelargonium zonale flowers at all times of the year, but particularly in spring (September to November).