Yes Virginia, there is a native Geranium!

When it became my turn to present my current story proposal at our regular editorial board meeting, my pitch was resoundingly well received. It seemed that half of the editorial board had no idea that there was a Geranium native to the US and the other half of the board couldn’t praise this plant highly enough.

However.

When I proposed the article’s title, the board’s consensus was, “You gonna have some splainin’ to do”, especially considering the time of the year.”

You see, just about everyone is familiar with the houseplant called “Geranium” and know that it hails from South Africa, but they are dumbfounded when I explain to them that the name Geranium for that particular plant is somewhat errantly applied. I say “somewhat” because, although that plant is in the Geraniaceae (Geranium) family, it is (Here we go with the TMI too much information), in the genus Pelargonium. So I regret to tell you that all of those wonderful, bright red “Geraniums” that your grandmother had on her windowsills and the deliciously fragrant “Scented Geraniums”, that we have come to love over the years, like the “Lemon Scented”, “Chocolate Scented”, “Peppermint Scented” et al “Geraniums” are really not Geraniums at all. They are correctly called Pelargoniums.

Now that we’ve drifted so far off course, a sometimes delightful and educational, yet unpredictable function of my persistent ADHD etc, let’s get to the point of the article, the fantastic, native, (Drum Roll Please) Geranium maculatum!! Here we have a bullet-proof native plant for the sunnier areas of your garden. And, not only an east coast native, but it is also native to 34 eastern states in the US and 3 provinces in Canada.

In Botanical Nomenclature, the word maculatum refers to some form of spots, usually on the leaves of the plant and although some light spotting shows itself once in a while on Geranium maculatum, it is uncommon. If I had been Linnaeus, I would have come up with a better specific epithet for this species.

Typically found in abundance on sunny road banks, this easy to grow perennial wildflower graces us with 5 petaled, quarter size blooms in various shades of violets, pinks, blues and purples for several weeks in mid-summer. Plants are 12” to 24” tall and there is also a rare white form. Geranium, AKA its common name, “Cranesbill” is so named because the seed pods resemble the beak of a crane, and that’s where the name of the genus comes from as well as the Greek word for Cranesbill is Geranos.

The seeds are food to several species of birds and other wildlife and are easy enough to germinate, but rhizome division is the quickest way to increase your colony of Geraniums.

Geranium maculatum was used by many different tribes of Native Americans. They used it medicinally to treat diarrhea and various mouth ailments. Powdered preparations were used to treat open sores or wounds. It was also used in folk medicine to stop abnormal bleeding, including that related to menstruation and uterine problems. It may be applied topically to help treat hemorrhoids. It can also be used as an antiseptic and can be applied externally for issues involving pus, discharge and many inflammations.

Oh yeh, about the title… I’ve been asked so many times, by so many folks “Is there really a native Geranium?, that I’ve just adopted the phrase “Yes, Virginia, there is a native Geranium” and that phrase comes from a delightful, soulful reply to an 8 year old girl’s letter to the editor of the New York Sun in 1897 by Francis Pharcellus Church, the newspaper’s editor. You can read the reply at: https://www.newseum.org/exhibits/online/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus/