Flora of Israel: Herb Robert
Geranium robertianum, Geranium purpureum, Herb Robert, Robert geranium,
Hebrew: גרניון הארגמן, Arabic: عطريه
| Scientific name: | Geranium robertianum L. | |
| Synonym name: | Geranium purpureum Vill. | |
| Common name: | Herb Robert, Robert geranium | |
| Hebrew name: | גרניון הארגמן | |
| Arabic name: | عطريه | |
| Nederlandse naam: | Robertskruid | |
| Family: | Geraniaceae, גרניים |
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| Life form: | Annual | |
| Stems: | 10-60 cm tall, decumbent to ascending, branched, spreading-hairy | |
| Leaves: | Alternate, dissected twice or more, dentate or serrate; odoriferous | |
| Inflorescence: | Terminal and axillary clusters of 2 short-stalked flowers | |
| Flowers: | Pink to reddish-purple petals, soft-hairy, rounded at the tips, 8-13 mm long; sepals 6-9 mm long, bristle-tipped, the tip 1-2 mm long | |
| Fruits / pods: | Carpels, 5-parted, short-hairy at the tips; styles 15-25 mm long, beaks 6-7 mm long; seeds oblong, obscurely pitted | |
| Flowering Period: | March, April, May, June | |
| Habitat: | Batha, Phrygana | |
| Distribution: | Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts | |
| Chorotype: | Mediterranean | |
| Summer shedding: | Ephemeral |
 Derivation of the botanical name: Geranium, from Greek γέρανος geranos, a crane; in allusion to the long beak of the carpels.
robertianum, Some say that it was named after St. Robert (1100 – 1159), a Benedictine monk, while others hold that it was named after Robert (Robert the Magnificent), Duke of Normandy (1000 – 1035), father of William the Conqueror (1027 or 1028 – 1087).
See the list of Medicinal herbs in Israel, the parts used and their medical uses to treat various diseases. |