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

Fleurs sauvages, Wildblumen, Fiori, флоры, Flores Silvestres, زهور

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

Flora of Israel online, Native plants, Palestine


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).
The Hebrew word: גרניון, geranion.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Vill. is used to indicate Dominique Villars (1745 – 1814),a French botanist.
See the list of Medicinal herbs in Israel, the parts used and their medical uses to treat various diseases.