Friday, March 25, 2022
flower of Geranium sanguineum
The flower of Geranium sanguineum. The round ovaries and elongated stigmas were thought to resemble cranes' heads. (Image credit: pethan via Wikimedia Commons)

From the Greek noun γέρανος (géranos), meaning "crane," the trumpeting, long-necked bird considered to be the tallest flying fowl on earth, a geranium is a species of flowering plant that is also called the "cranesbill" due to the shape of the plant's round fruit and elongated stigma during flowering, which resembles a crane's head and beak. The plants were classified under the genus Geranium, after the crane, and the name stuck.