Pelargonium peltatum
(ivy geranium)

Preferred Common Name

• ivy geranium

Other Scientific Names

• Dibrachya clypeata Eckl. & Zeyh.
• Geraniospermum peltatum (L.) Kuntze
• Geranium peltatum L.

International Common Names

• English: cascading geranium; ivy-leaved geranium; ivy-leaved pelargonium
• Spanish: geranio de maceta; geranio de rastra; geranio yedra; geranios; gitanas; murcianas

Local Common Names

• Denmark: haengepelargonie
• South Africa: Kolsuring; wildemalva

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Geraniales
•                         Family: Geraniaceae
•                             Genus: Pelargonium
•                                 Species: Pelargonium peltatum

There has been much confusion in the literature surrounding the genera of Pelargonium and Geranium. The genus Geranium was originally described by Linnaeus in 1753 but was then divided into Pelargonium and Geranium by Charles L’Héritier in 1789, and many species from both genera have retained the name ‘geranium’ in their vernacular names. Further, many cultivars and varieties exist, many with similar variety names to other species. The genus name Pelargonium derives from the Greek word ‘pelargos’, meaning ‘stork’, in reference to the beak-like shape of the fruit, which has also resulted in the genus being called the ‘stork’s bill’ genus (Stearn, 1992).

The genus Pelargonium is divided into sections based on morphological and other features. The species Pelargonium peltatum is a member of the Ciconium section. It is the parent species of the ‘ivy leaved pelargoniums’ cultivars, since, like ivy, its leaves are shield-shaped, i.e., attached on the lower surface away from and not at the margin. The species name peltatum derives from the Latin word ‘pelta’, meaning shield, in reference to the shape of the leaves (Stearn, 1992; SANBI, 2015).

SANBI (2004) gives the following description: Climbing herbaceous slender-stemmed perennial to 2 m or more; leaves succulent, peltate, entire, bluntly lobed or 5-angled, 2-7 cm in diameter, ± glabrous, some populations with downy leaves or zonation patterns; flowers (Aug-Oct mainly) borne in 2-9 flowered umbel-like inflorescences on long peduncles, mauve, pink-mauve, pale pink or almost white. Characteristic microscopic features are: the unicellular clothing hairs of leaf and stem, up to 400 µ long, thick walled, slightly warty, base swollen, surrounded by 4-5 subsidiary cells with striated cuticle; the numerous calcium oxalate cluster crystals (rosette aggregates), loose in the powdered drug or in the parenchyma of the leaf mesophyll, up to 90 µ in diameter; the glandular hairs of the leaf lamina, with unicellular heads and 4-5 celled stalks, the basal cell elongated; the small glands with unicellular stalk and unicellular head up to 40 µ in diameter; the thin-walled polygonal cells of the lower leaf epidermis with anomocytic stomata; and no underlying palisade layer. 

P. peltatum is native to South Africa but was introduced to Europe at the turn of the eighteenth century by the governor of Cape Province, who sent a parcel of plants to the Netherlands in 1700 (Miller, 1996; SANBI, 2015). Within a year, the species was already being grown in England by the Duchess of Beaufort, who around this time was also having other Pelargonium species such as P. zonale grown (Miller, 1996).

Date of introduction to the West Indies is uncertain, but it may have occurred recently. Geraniums were not included in Macfadyen’s (1837) flora of Jamaica or Bello’s (1881; 1883) work on Puerto Rico, but the species was included in Britton’s (1918) work on Bermuda, in which it was mentioned as “occasionally grown in flower gardens”. Subsequently it was also reportedly cultivated in flower gardens of Puerto Rico by 1924 (Britton and Wilson, 1924).

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

P. peltatum has been intentionally introduced by man beyond its native South African range to various parts of the world primarily for cultivation as an ornamental plant. It is also an accidental introduction, as it has reportedly escaped in Puerto Rico (Liogier and Martorell, 2000), has been reported growing outside of cultivation in Spain, Greece, and Azores (Aedo et al., 2009; DAISIE, 2015), and is naturalized in New Zealand and California (Randall, 2012). The varying ‘ivy leaved’ cultivars were developed from P. peltatum, and are likewise widespread in cultivation.

Members of the Pelargonium genus can disperse their small seeds by wind, water, and soil. Their seeds typically possess a plume or tail-like attachment which can carry them over long distances. The attachment on the seeds of P. capitatum, for example, reportedly will essentially drill and secure the seed into soil if twisted by the wind or affected by movement of animals, and this species is considered one of the most widespread and naturally invasive of coastal weeds in the Perth region of Australia (Dixon, 2011; Western Australian Herbarium, 2014). 

P. peltatum has been widely distributed as an ornamental flowering plant, grown both in containers and in the ground, sometimes used by horticulturists for groundcover and proving to be economically beneficial (SANBI, 2015). However in cases where it has escaped from cultivation, the species has been reported to become weedy and has even been included in a list of invasive species in Spain (Randall, 2012). It also has a vine-like, climbing growth habit which could potentially pose competition by smothering native flora, although this has not been reported. The horticultural value of the species generally outweighs existing evidence against recommending its introduction beyond its native range of South Africa.

• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Has propagules that can remain viable for more than one year

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

P. peltatum has been extensively cultivated for landscape uses and as an ornamental in botanical gardens, borders, containers, as groundcover due to its climbing habit, and, in places where it is prone to frost, indoors and in greenhouses (Walt, 1977; Miller, 1996; Wiersema and Leon, 2013; SANBI, 2004).

Medicinal uses for this species have been reported. The leaves possess an acidulous sap reportedly effective as an astringent and antiseptic for sore throats; the Afrikaans vernacular name refers to this useful sap (SANBI, 2004). Fresh juice of the leaves can be applied to oral ulcers, and leaves heated in soil can be prepared for earaches, toothaches, scratches, and minor burns (Walt, 1977; SANBI, 2004).

In some places the leaves and buds of P. peltatum, both edible, are eaten as vegetables either raw or cooked (SANBI, 2015).

A blue indigo dye is obtained from the petals and was said to have been used by Burchell in his paintings, as well as for wool or cloth dye (Walt, 1977; Miller, 1996).