Pelargonium capitatum

Rose scented geranium

Family: Geraniaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Rose scented geranium is a naturalized shrub found in the central California coast near Dillon Beach in Marin County, growing in disturbed or sandy sites at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from September to January, this plant produces rose- to purple-pink flowers 16 to 20 millimeters wide in dense clusters of 8 to 20 blooms. Growing as a prostrate to sprawling shrub up to 1 meter tall with soft-woody branches, it has dense soft hairs throughout its structure. Its distinctive leaves are wider than long, heart-shaped, and deeply 3 to 5-lobed with coarsely and irregularly toothed edges, with the lower leaf margins distinctively curled. The soft, spreadng branches and uniquely shaped leaves give this geranium a charming, informal growth habit.

Habitat: Disturbed or sandy sites

Bloom period: Nov, probably other times in California, +- Sep-Jan in southern Africa

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: CCo (Dillon Beach, Marin Co.)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.