>
>I was recently in Denver and took a lot of photos at
>the Botanic Garden. The gardens were absolutely
>gorgeous. If anyone has a chance to get anywhere near
>to CO. You must go and see them. The diversity of z5
>plants that grow there is unrivaled (except for my
>uncle's house that I plant in OH <G>).
>But, there are a few drawbacks. Many of these
>"mouth-watering" perennials and bulbs are unlabeled
>and staff was not readily available to talk to to get
>details.
>So, the subject of htis email is that there are
>several perennials that were hard for me to put a name
>to the photo. There are some Geraniums with a flower
>like Pelargonium. There are several plants that I
>can't really tell if they are Eryngiums or Geraniums.
>And, there were several Penstemons that I don't know
>what the species is.
Dear John,
The basic separation of the three genera is as follows:
Geranium 10 stamens, all fertile
Erodium 10 stamens, 5 fertile, 5 sterile
Pelargonium 10 stamens, 1,2,3,4,5, or 7 fertile
As you can see, there is a small overlap, but generally they can be
separated in that way.
I am deeply involved with the geranium family and would be very happy to
look at your pictures if that would help. Please contact me separately so
that we can make suitable arrangements.
Best regards,
David Victor