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Pelargonium odoratissimum

Common name:	Apple Geranium	Family:	Geraniaceae
Author:	(L.)L'Hé r.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. Africa.
Habitat:	Shady places and under trees in forest margins in eastern and southern Cape areas[260].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Geranium odoratissimum[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Apple Geranium [H,P], Apple-geranium [B], Nd [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	odora = fragrant
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Geraniales. Geranium family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Africa

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.2m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to July. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Condiment Tea.

The leaves are crushed and used to flavour salads, soups, fruit dishes, jellies, sorbets, ice-cream, cakes etc[183, 238]. Cake pans can be lined with the leaves and the pastry will be infused with their essence[183]. The leaves have an apple scent according to one report[183] but our plants have a very strong minty smell[K].
An infusion of the leaves is used as a tea[238].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiseptic Aromatherapy Astringent Tonic.

The whole plant is an aromatic herb with astringent, tonic and antiseptic effects[4, 238]. It is used internally in the treatment of debility, gastro-enteritis and haemorrhage[238]. Externally, it is used to treat skin complaints, injuries, neuralgia and throat infections[238].
The essential oil is used in aromatherapy. Its keyword is 'Balancing'[210]. It is used in the treatment of burns, sores and shingles[238].

Other Uses

Essential Pot-pourri Repellent.

An essential oil is obtained from the plant[46, 171]. It is used in aromatherapy, perfumery and as an insect repellent[238]. The growing plant will repel flies, especially if the leaves are touched occasionally to release their scent.
The leaves are dried for use in pot-pourri and herb pillows[238].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, succeeding in a well-drained ordinary good soil[260, K]. Requires a light well-drained neutral to alkaline soil in a sunny position[188, 200]. Plants are tolerant of some shade[238].
Plants are not very cold-hardy in Britain, tolerating temperatures down to about -3° c[260]. They generally require greenhouse protection but might succeed outdoors when grown in a very sheltered warm spot in the mildest parts of the country[1]. 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[238]. The plants need to be kept fairly dry in the winter[200]. When grown in pots, the plants require regular repotting in order to stay vigorous[260].
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[238].
The bruised leaves release a smell of ripe apples[245]. The plant is cultivated for its essential oil[171].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Stored seed should be sown in early spring in a greenhouse. The seed germinates best with a minimum temperature of 13° c, germination usually taking place within 2 weeks though it sometimes takes some months[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. If trying them outdoors, plant them out in early summer and consider giving them extra protection during the winter.
Cuttings succeed at almost any time in the growing season but early summer is the best time in order for the new plant to become established before winter.

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: The bruised leaves release a smell of ripe apples[245].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Geraniaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[210] Westwood. C. Aromatherapy - A guide for home use. Amberwood Publishing Ltd 1993 ISBN 0-9517723-0-9
An excellent little pocket guide. Very concise.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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