Pelargonium graveolens

Pelargonium graveolens, previously P. intermedium, is an initially soft-stemmed, hairy shrub that grows from 1 m to 1,3 m in height and spreads to 1 m in diameter. The stems become woody with age. The plant shares the common name of rose-scented geranium or rose-scented pelargonium with P. capitatum. The former of these colloquial names is more in vogue, the second more accurate.

The dark green leaves are deeply lobed and shallowly toothed, overall triangular to rounded in shape. The leaves have uneven surfaces, especially near their margins. The leaves are covered in glandular hairs and the larger veins recessed on the upper surfaces.

Pink, magenta or white flowers appear in umbels from late winter to summer, mainly in spring.

Two notably discrete distributions of the species exist: a Western Cape one in the eastern Little Karoo from the Swartberge to Uniondale and George, the other in Mpumalanga and Limpopo; also found in some neighbouring countries. 

The habitat is moist areas of mountain kloofs, often in partial shade. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

The strong fragrance suggests the important use of this plant in the cosmetic industry, planted for the essential oil yielded through distillation (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; https://pza.sanbi.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).