Pelargonium graveolens

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Flowers, Leaves - tea

The flowers can be eaten raw and make a colourful addition to salads. The rose-scented leaves are used as a flavouring in desserts, jellies, and vinegars, and can also be brewed into a tea.

Where to Find It

It is a subtropical plant. It grows on mountains and in light shade. It can grow in moist locations. It grows among rocks. In Zimbabwe it grows between 1,500-2,300 m above sea level.

Africa, Australia, Balkans, Bosnia, Canary Is., Central America, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Mozambique, Puerto Rico, Romania, South Africa, Southern Africa*, South America, Tasmania, West Indies, Zimbabwe,

How to Identify

A shrubby bush. It grows 1 m high. The leaves have a scent. The leaves are broadly oval with lobes spread out like fingers on a hand. The lower lobes are often lobed again. The flowers are small and pink with dark purple veins. They are opposite the leaves and in groups of 2-7.

How to Grow

Requires a light well-drained neutral to alkaline soil in a sunny position. Plants are not very hardy in Britain, they generally require greenhouse protection but might succeed outdoors when grown in a very sheltered warm spot in the mildest parts of the country. They can also be grown in containers that are placed outdoors in the summer and then brought into the greenhouse or conservatory for the winter. The plants need to be kept fairly dry in the winter. Very tolerant of pruning, they can be cut right down to the base in the autumn when bringing them back indoors, or in the spring to encourage lots of fresh growth. Cultivated for its essential oil in S. France and Spain, there are many named varieties.

Propagation: Sow seed as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse, or in early spring if using stored seed. A minimum germination temperature of 13°C is recommended; seeds usually sprout within 2 weeks, though germination can sometimes take several months. Prick seedlings out into individual pots when large enough to handle and overwinter them under glass for at least their first year. If planting outdoors, do so in early summer and consider extra winter protection. Cuttings can be taken at almost any point during the growing season, though early summer is ideal to allow the new plant to establish before winter.

Medicinal Uses

An aromatic, rose-scented herb, the whole plant has relaxant, anti-depressant, and antiseptic properties, reduces inflammation, and controls bleeding. All parts are astringent. It is used internally for pre-menstrual and menopausal problems, nausea, tonsillitis, and poor circulation. Externally, it is applied to acne, haemorrhoids, eczema, bruises, ringworm, and lice. The leaves can be used fresh at any time of year. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy and applied locally in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Other Uses

A well-known plant since the 17th century for its use in food, beverages, tea, pot-pourri, and perfume, it is also widely grown in Bulgaria for the production of rose geranium essential oil. The oil, which has an orange-rose fragrance, is the main source of commercial geranium oil, used extensively in aromatherapy, skin care, and food flavouring. The leaves are used in pot-pourri.

Pelargonium graveolens is a Pelargonium species native to the Cape Provinces and the Northern Provinces of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Common names include rose geranium, sweet scented geranium, old-fashioned rose geranium, and rose-scent geranium.

Production

Plants are fast growing.

Other Information

It is cultivated.

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