FAMILY OF THE WEEK : GERANIACEAE

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satish phadke

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Jul 31, 2008, 2:12:43 PM7/31/08
to indiantreepix Indian, wildflowerindia
FAMILY OF THE WEEK : GERANIACEAE
A family of 5 genera and 570 species and is cosmopolitan in distribution. In India 3 genera and 25 species occurring mostly in Himalayas: wild and cultivated variety.
Vegetative characters:
Mostly herbs.The plants perennate by fleshy rhizomes or bulbous tubers.The stem is succulent and contains watery juice. The plants are glabrous or more commonly glandular pubescent.
The leaves are opposite or alternate, simple or often lobed or divided as in geranium. The stipules are usually present.
Inflorescence and flowers:
The commonest form of inflorescence is cymose.
The flowers are bracteate and usually bracteolate,complete,
hermaphrodite,actinomorphic or zygomorphic,pentamerous and hypogynous.
The calyx is of five sepals which are free or rarely united, persistent, imbricate or rarely valvate.The corolla is also composed of five free petals alternating with sepals. The receptacle is scarcely expanded into a disc which has five glands. Usually there are ten stamens in two alternate whorls of five each.The anthers are diathecous introrse and dehiscing longitudinally.In Geranium a nectary is present at the base of each stamen of the inner whorl.
The gynoecium is usually five carpellary and syncarpous with a superior pentalocular ovary. The style is long with five stigmas.
Fruits and seeds:
Fruit is a schizocarpic.Often beaked and five lobed.
Pollination is by a variety of bees which visit the flowers for nectar.The seeds are scattered in all directions as the capsule opens by violence.
Examples:
Geranium wallichianium
Geranium robertianum
Erodium sp.
Pelargonium



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SATISFIED http://satishphadke.blogspot.com/

J.M. Garg

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Jul 31, 2008, 10:26:50 PM7/31/08
to satish phadke, indiantreepix Indian, wildflowerindia
Two species from Indiantreepix Database:
Geranium wallichianum ? Geraniaceae Buxtons Blue in Corbett-Ranikhet-Binsar area in April 07- Kiran ji. Geranium wallichianum 'Buxtons Blue' Please identify - indiantreepix | Google Groups Geranium wallichianum
Pelargonium x hortorum Geraniaceae Garden Geranium, Common Geranium, Zonal Geranium, Bedding Geranium, or Geranium Pelargonium x hortorum FlowerID 0246 & 0249 - indiantreepix | Google Groups Floridata: Pelargonium x hortorum


For my Birds, Butterflies, Trees, Landscape pictures etc., visit http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/J.M.Garg

satish phadke

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Aug 1, 2008, 10:30:34 AM8/1/08
to indiantreepix Indian, wildflowerindia
Adding photographs of garden variety.Pelargonium x hortorum
Satish

On Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 11:42 PM, satish phadke <phadke...@gmail.com> wrote:
Pelargonium x hortorum1.jpg
Pelargonium x hortorum.jpg
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