Newly opened flowers of Pelargonium quinquelobatum
Tag: pelargonium quinquelobatum
Pelargonium Quinquelobatum
pelargonium quinquelobatum
Pelargonium quinquelobatum
The young plant Pelargonium quinquelobatum is growing well and when mature it has white, light green yellow or grey green blue flowers. The leaves are triangular in shape and greyish green with a blue tinge, it is native to Eastern Africa.
New seedlings
Two new seedlings have now germinated – Pelargonium crithmifolium & pelargonium quinquelobatum.
P. crithmifolium when mature has thick succulent stems grey green in colour with fleshy leaves, the elegant flowers are white with pinkish purple markings on the upper petals, The name crithmifolium refers to the leaves that are like a rock samphire in appearance known as crithmum maritimum.
P. quinquelobatum when mature has beautiful yellow/green to green/ blue flowers, it is a perennial with grey green triangular leaves with a touch of red.
Rare pelargoniums
Many new Pelargonium species have only just been recently discovered, a number of these are either rare or endangered in different regions of South Africa and are not seen in cultivation. Some rarer types can be unusual in appearance and have beautiful flowers or foliage.
P. griseum was discovered in 1861, the unusual but lovely flowers have 4 petals which are pink with tints of purple, the upper petals are folded over at the top which gives it the appearance of a tube, and the flower also has long stamens . It is a low growing shrub that is slightly woody and has grey green leaves.
P. quinquelobatum is not quite so unusual as the P. griseum but the graceful flowers are different in colour than most pelargoniums that you see, which are yellowy green-blue grey in colour and the upper petals have pale pink markings, The leaves also are blue green in colour and is native to areas of Tanzania,Kenya and Ethiopia.
P. tragacanthoides is similar to the P. griseum but the attractive flowers are white in colour with deep purple markings on the upper petals which fold back to give the appearance of a cube, the feather like leaves are highly scented and are used for medicinal purposes in areas of South Africa mostly around the Eastern Cape,
P. auritum has small deep purple and white flowers that have narrow petals and stamens that look like a star in the center, it is native to South Western Cape Province.