Pelargonium x hortorum

Pelargonium × hortorum, (also called zonal geranium, garden geranium), is a nothospecies of Pelargonium most commonly used as an ornamental plant. It is a hybrid between Pelargonium zonale and Pelargonium inquinans. They are the group of Pelargonium cultivars, with leaves marked with a brown annular zone and inflorescence in the form of large balls of tight flowers, usually red, pink or white. These are the most common geraniums of garden centers and florists, sold in pots for windowsills and balconies or planted in flowerbeds. The specific epithet hortorum is a genitive form of the Latin hortus 'garden' and therefore corresponds to 'horticultural'. The name was created by the American botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey who in 1914, writes 'The large number of forms of the common geranium, derives from the variation and probably the crossing of P. zonale and P. inquinans (and possibly others) during more than a century of careful selections'. It is important to distinguish the botanical Latin term 'Geranium', the extent of which has varied according to botanical knowledge over the centuries and the vernacular name of the French language 'geranium' whose extension is defined by several centuries of use by amateur and professional gardeners. Furthermore, most plants commonly called 'geraniums' by florists and gardeners do not belong to the genus Geranium (as currently delimited by botanists) but to the genus Pelargonium.