Geranium macrorrhizum | |
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Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Geraniales |
Family: | Geraniaceae |
Genus: | Geranium |
Species: | G. macrorrhizum
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Binomial name | |
Geranium macrorrhizum |
Geranium macrorrhizum is a species of hardy flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Geranium, family Geraniaceae. It is native to the South east Alps and the Balkans. [1] Its common names include bigroot geranium, [2] Bulgarian geranium, [2] and rock crane's-bill. [3]
It has five-lobed (palmate) leaves that are aromatic when crushed, with pale pink flowers in summer. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, where it is used as a flowering groundcover, with named cultivars selected for flower colors from white through pink to magenta. The cultivars ' Ingwersen's Variety' (pale pink) [4] and 'White-ness' [5] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [6]
The plant has been used in traditional herbal medicine. [7] The name for all types of geraniums in general in the Bulgarian language is derived from the word здрав, which can translate as 'healthy', among a few related concepts. An essential oil from it is also used in aromatherapy. In addition to oils, it contains flavonoids, sesquiterpenes, phenolic acids, pigments, vitamins, and mineral salts.[ citation needed]
One of the many components of the essential oil is the sesquiterpene ketone germacrone, which has been shown to have a high and selective antimicrobial activity against the species Bacillus subtilis. [7]