_im_Gebirge%2C_Naturpark_Rieserferner-Ahrn.jpg?width=800)
Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Geranium family
Geraniaceae
フウロソウ科
A family including Geranium (cranesbills) and Pelargonium (garden geraniums). Characterized by explosive ballistic seed dispersal when fruits ripen. Some species are known as traditional medicinal plants (e.g., Geranium thunbergii).
Key Characteristics
- ●5-petaled flowers
- ●Fruits curl back explosively at maturity, catapulting seeds (ballistic dispersal)
- ●Leaves palmately to pinnately compound, many with distinctive scent
- ●Many species have glandular hairs on stems and leaves
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple / Compound
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf dissection
Dissected
Stipules
Present
Aromatic
Aromatic / None
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
5 petals / Many
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
5
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Geraniales > Geraniaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Efficient seed dispersal via explosive ballistic fruits