GERANIUM. Linn. Gen. PI. M o n a d e l p h i a D e c a n d r i a .
Monogyna. Stigmata 5. Fruftus roflratut, pentacotcus.
Raii Syn. Gen. 24. I-Ie r b /e p e n t a p e t a l e v a s c u l i f e r a :.
g e r a n iu m [ I parviflorum caule fubpubefcente, floribus ^pentandris, petalis emarginatis, arillis lasvibus
pilis appreffis veilitis.
GERANIUM ;
! pufillum peedauurnculis bifloris, petalis bifidis, caule depreffo, foliis reniformibus palmatis
linearibus acutis. Linn. Syfl. Veg. p. 618. Spec. Plant: p. 957. Mantifs. 435.
Burnt. Geran. 23.
GERANIUM puflllum caule herbaceo ramofo, foliis fubrotundo-lobatis, lobis trifidis, floribus minimis
pentandris cceruleis. Cavanilles Difs. p. 202. tab. 83. f 1.
GERANIUM foliis hirfutis, femifeptilobis, lobis fëmitrilobis, obtufis. Hall. Hifl. 940.
GERANIUM malveefolium. Scopoli FI. CarnioL ed. 2. n. 847.
GERANIUM columbinum majus, flore-minore coeruléo. Raii Hifl. Plant, p. 1059. Synopf. p. 358.
The greater blue-flowered Dovesfoot-Cranefbill. Vaill. Parif. tab. 15. f 1.
iRADIX annua, teres, fibrofa, rubefcens. 1
GAUGES diffiifi, fubpedales, teretes, pallide virides 1
aut fubrubentes, vix pubefcentes, ramofi. 1
•FOLIA fubrotunda, feptèmfida, laciniis patentibus, tri- (
fidis, obtufis, quibufdam profundius partitis, 1
finubus acutiufculis; venola, villofa, mollia, 1
pallide viridia; radicalia longiflime petiolata; 1
caulina oppofita, magnitudine inaequalia, Ion- '
gitudine pedunculis fubaequalia, laciniis acu-
tioribus.
■ STIPULE lanceolatae, bafi latae, rubrae, nitentes, laciniis
acutis, ciliatis.
■ FLORES minuti, purpureo-ccerulei:
■ PEDUNCULI fubunciales, axillares, folitarii, biflori.-
■ BRACTEyE feu Involucra ftipulis fimilia, modo bre-
viora.
■ CALYX: Per ian th ium pentaphyllum, foliolis ovatis,
acutis,- furfum pilofis, ftriatis, albo marginatis;
duobus exterioribus latioribus,-flg. %.
■ COROLLA calyCe paulo major, campanulato-hians,
petalis 5 obcordatis, emarginatis, flg. 2.
altemantes, flg. 3. auff.
■ STAMINA: Filament a decern germen cingentia,
quorum quinque longiora,' fertilia, quinque
alternabreviora, fteriha, fig. 4, 5. A n th ers |
quinque, fubovatae, cceruleae, flg. 6.
■ PISTILLUM uti in affinibus, fig. 7.
■ SEMINA folitaria, reniformia, glabra, arillata, rufa.
A r i l l i eaudati, pallide fufci, laeyes, pilis
albis, long itudin alite r adpreffis, ob fiti, fig. 8.
aua./g. 9.
ROOT annual, round, fibrous, reddifh.
STALKS fpreading, about a foot long, pale green,
or' fometimes reddifh, very flightly downy,
branched. '
LEAVES roundifh, divided into feven lobes, the lobes
trifid, obtufe, Tome of them more deeply divided,
the finufes rather a c u te ; veiny, villous,
foft, jpale green; the radical ones on very long
footftalks; the ftalk-leaves oppofite, of an
unequal fize, nearly as long as the peduncles,
their lobes more acute.
STIPULAl lanceolate, broad at bottom, red, fhining,
fegments fharp,, edged with hairs.
FLOWERS very fmall, of a purplilh blue colour.
PEDUNCLES from the axilla, about an inch long,
two-flowered.
BRACTE^E or Involucra like the ftipulae, but
fmaller.
CALYX : a P e r i a n t h iu m of five leaves, w h ich are
ovate, acute, covered with hairs which point
upwards, ftriated, with a white margin, the
two outer ones wider than the reft, fig. 1.
COROLLA a little larger than the calyx, bell-fhaped
and open, confifting of five obcordate, emar-
ginated petals, flg. 2.
N E C TA R Y : .five green G landules, placed alter-
- nately with the petals, flg . 3. magnified.
STAMINA: ten F i l a m e n t s furrounding the germen,
five of which are. longer and fertile, the other
' five fhorter and ftenle, j%- 4, 5. The'five
A n t h e r m are nearly ovate, and blue, fig. 6.
| PISTILLUM as in the other, fig. 7.
1 SEEDS folitary, kidney-fhaped, fmooth, reddifh, covered
with an arillus. The A rillus pale
brown, fmooth, with white longitudinal hairs
prefled clofely to it, flg. 8. magnified aiflg. 9.
i While fome Botanifts have confounded this fpecies with the molk already figured in this work, others have
■ miftaken it for the rotundifolium, from both of which it is fpecifically different: R a y and V a i l l a n t , among the
•lder Botanifts, appear to have had a perfe&ly clear idea of it, as is evident from the defcription o f the one and
tbe tbird edition of R a y ’s Synopfis, D i l l e n iu s has defcribed and figured a plant
■ which he calls Geranium^columbinum humile flore cceruleo minimo; this plant was firft adopted by L in n a e u s m his
mPPec- Plantar, under the name o f pufillum, as appears from his referring to this very ngure, a name applicable
I .enough to Dille Nius’s plant as figured by him, but not to R a y ’s and V a i l l a n t ’s, which is the one here
■ intended. Whether D i l l e n iu s ’s plant be a ftinted variety of ours, or a diftinft fpecies,, we fhall not take upon
■ us at prefent to determine; if the former, his figure, like that of his Ceraflium femidecandrum, has contributed
■ greatly to miflead; if the latter, the name of pufillum would appear to be a very proper one, and may at anv
•m e be made ufe of. ' , ' , , , • ■ . J
I Notwithftanding there are ftrong reafons for fuppofing, from obfervations made in thé latter works of
■ l in n^us, that our plant is his puflllum, we have thought a name fo very inapplicable ought not to remain as a
■ ufubling-block, and have therefore fubftituted parviflorum, as coinciding with R a y ’s defcription.
K t f]-ffVlngralready defcribed P^ant minutely, we fhall only mention a few of. the ftriking chara&ers in which
•g u te that°^ f f l molle: m w^at re*Pe& ^ varies from rotundifolium, will be particularly fpecified when we
Bj. y differs from the molle, in having its leaves more divided, of a paler and more yellow colour
■ L 0 ?^s much fmaller, o f a bluer and lefs brilliant hue; more clofely examined, the'ftalks are fcarce
ftonCefÜ h ° r ^ut ®%Ltly pubefcent, the leaves in general grow-oppofite, frequently not fo towards the
t 1„0 me ftalks, and are more open behind; the ftamina bearing antherae are never more than five, and the
■ ativ 1 °rr coak ° f tbe feed, inftead of being tranfverfely wrinkled, as we have figured it-in the molle, is compa-
ly- t f U t dds iatter diftm&ion, which is a very eflential one, and indeed, I may fay, for the difcovery
■ arillus,
^ am mdebted to the fuperior difcernment of my much-efteemed and ingenious friend Mr. Dav
■ T m Switzerland. * ‘
Bvheretlf London, particularly in the negle£led gardens, and fallow-fields about Little-Chelfea,
■ arelv f 5 4 -S this fpecies is quite a.weed; ort the Eaftern fide, at leaft near the.metropolis, it is more
B a l a r r c r ’ m many Parts of England itgrows equally common with the 'molle, than which it ufually forms
I f Tr wi r- a.n d fometimes varieswith white flowers.
Diolloms in June and July.