Geranium reuteri

Description

Geranium reuteri is a large perennial herbaceous plant with a short stem and deeply divided leaves. The plant forms brilliant carpets on the floor of laurel forests and wax myrtle-tree heath scrub.

The leaves grow in a rosette from a woody base or short stem, and are up to 8 cm wide with a long (stalk). The flowers are 2 – across. Each flower has five sepals and five pink petals with whitish backs. Appearing in late March to mid-May, the flowers are borne on a branched inflorescence and are deeply divided into lobes.

Gallery

File:Geranium reuteri flowers.jpg|Flowers

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1858 by George François Reuter as Geranium canariense. It was known by this name until 1997. However, Reuter's name is illegitimate, because Jean Poiret had already used the name Geranium canariense in 1812 for a different species. (Poiret's Geranium canariense, transferred from Pelargonium canariense Willd., is now regarded as a synonym for Pelargonium candicans.) Noticing that Reuter's name was illegitimate, in 1997, Carlos Aedo and Félix Muñoz Garmendia published the replacement name Geranium reuteri.

Distribution and habitat

Geranium reuteri is native to the Canary Islands. In the Canary Islands it is found in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and Gran Canaria. It is absent from the eastern islands, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. It occurs in relatively moist woodland habitats, including laurel woods, cloud forest zones and pine woods.

References

References

1. (1997). "Twelve New Names in ''Geranium'' L. (Geraniaceae)". Kew Bulletin.
2. (2001). "Wild Flowers of the Canary Islands". Editorial Rueda.
3. (2018). "''Geranium reuteri'' Aedo & Muñoz Garm.".
4. "Plant Name Details for ''Geranium canariense'' (Willd.) Poir.". [[International Plant Names Index.
5. "Plant Name Details for ''Geranium reuteri'' Aedo & Muñoz Garm.". [[International Plant Names Index.
6. "''Geranium reuteri'' Aedo & Muñoz Garm.". [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]].