Geranium ocellatum Cambess. in Jacquem. (Syn: Geranium bicolor Royle; Geranium brevipes Hutch. & Dalziel; Geranium choorense Royle; Geranium favosum var. sublaevis Oliv. ; Geranium kweichowense C.C. Huang; Geranium mascatense var. africanum (R. Knuth) Raizada ; Geranium mascatense var. camerunense (R. Knuth) Raizada ; Geranium mascatense var. himalaicum (R. Knuth) Babu ;  Geranium mascatense var. sublaevis (Oliv.) Urb.; Geranium mascatense var. yunnanense (R. Knuth) Raizada ; Geranium ocellatum var. africanum R. Knuth in Engl. ; Geranium ocellatum var. camerunense R. Knuth in Engl. ; Geranium ocellatum var. himalaicum R. Knuth in Engl.; Geranium ocellatum var. sublaevis (Oliv.) Milne-Redh. ; Geranium ocellatum var. yunnanense R. Knuth in Engl.; Geranium tapintzense C.C. Huang) as per Catalogue of Life;
.

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geranium mascatense:
geranium mascatense
near chakki mor, himachal pradesh
second week of march

Very beautiful flower.. with a dark purple centre…


There seems to be different interpretations of Geranium mascatense and G.ocellatum.
‘The Plant List’ gives G.ocellatum as a synonym of the former. Whereas Nasir in ‘Flora of Pakistan’ separates the two.  Stewart does not list G.mascatense at all but has G.ocellatum var. himalaicum as common from 300-1800m.  Nasir, on the other hand, says that G.mascatense is only sparingly recorded from Pakistan and then only in Baluchistan.
G.mascatense is recorded from Africa and the Gulf – so Baluchistan fits OK with this.  Collet had G.ocellatum in hill districts of N.India from same altitudes as Stewart.  IF they constitute separate species, I find it somewhat surprising to have G.mascatense in the Himalayan foothills.
I do not know on whose authority G.ocellatum has been sunk into G.mascatense. According to Nasir the species are very close but G.mascatense has puberulous mericarps– translating that into English:  in Geranium the dry fruits consists of 5 ‘mericarps’ each with a seed, which may be explosively dispersed though sometimes remains inside) the ‘puberulous’ part means downy with very short soft hairs.  So clearly, unless one can observe the fruits of a geranium this characteristic cannot be ascertained.  No doubt Nasir knew of other differences.
Taking a quick look at the images for G.mascastense available on the internet, most show marked gaps between the petals (as do the images taken in Muscat in the posting above this) compared with images of specimens from the foothills of the NW Himalaya (incl. the one near Chakki) which may constitute sufficient to justify them as separate taxa but without careful study of the whole plants cannot speculate if that is sufficient (or a consistent difference) to justify separation as varieties, subspecies or at the species level but the geographic/altitudinal/climatic differences may be of significance.
Cannot comment further at this stage.

Many thanks for this. If i am back in that area I shall try and gather more information


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Geranium ocellatum
Very beautiful herb observed on walls of Purandar fort in rainy season.


Pictures very beautiful, to me this looks very close to Geranium mascatense


On flowersofindia site the same… common name Black Eyed Geranium, Geranium mascatense has syn as Geranium ocellatum.
But since my id was based from birdsoman.com, gallery of Oman flowers, I did not add the syn.
I am always puzzled that a flower found in Mussorie on the mountains, how can the same be growing next to a beach here?
Both could be the same. To me they look the same.
Kindly check.

Yes, this taxon appears in The Plant List too, where Geranium ocellatum Jacquem. is a synonym of Geranium mascatense Boisse…
According to Germplasm Resources Information Network, Geranium ocellatum Cambess., V. Jacquemont, Voy. Inde 4 (Bot.): 33. 1835-1836 (-1844) and Geranium mascatense Boiss. are distinct taxa…I usually rely on GRIN, that’s why this confusion..

Yes very beautiful species. We had photographed some in Chakrata also.


Another interesting find from Purandar Fort. Flora of Purandar is unique…. Thanks … for sharing this beauty….


Very nice, but confused over the discussion on ID.


There seems to be different interpretations of Geranium mascatense and G.ocellatum. The flower here shows gaps between the petals (see below)
‘The Plant List’ gives G.ocellatum as a synonym of the former.  Whereas Nasir in ‘Flora of Pakistan’ separates the two.  Stewart does not list G,mascatense at all but has G.ocellatum var. himalaicum as common from 300-1800m.  Nasir, on the other hand, says that G.mascatense is only sparingly recorded from Pakistan and then only in Baluchistan.
G.mascatense is recorded from Africa and the Gulf – so Baluchistan fits OK with this. Collet had G.ocellatum in hill districts of N.India from same altitudes as Stewart.  IF they constitute separate species, I find it somewhat surprising to have G.mascatense in the Himalayan foothills.
I do not know on whose authority G.ocellatum has been sunk into G.mascatense. According to Nasir the species are very close but G.mascatense has puberulous mericarps – translating that into English:  in Geranium the dry fruits consists of 5 ‘mericarps’ each with a seed, which may be explosively dispersed though sometimes remains inside) the ‘puberulous’ part means downy with very short soft hairs.  So clearly, unless one can observe the fruits of a geranium this characteristic cannot be ascertained.  No doubt Nasir knew of other differences.
Taking a quick look at the images for G.mascastense available on the internet, most show marked gaps between the petals (as do the images taken in Muscat in the posting above this) compared with images of specimens from the foothills of the NW Himalaya (incl. the one near Chakki) which may constitute sufficient to justify them as separate taxa but without careful study of the whole plants cannot speculate if that is sufficient (or a consistent difference) to justify separation as varieties, subspecies or at the species level but the geographic/altitudinal/climatic differences may be of significance.
Cannot comment further at this stage.


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Balsaminaceae, Geraniaceae and Oxalidaceae Week: Geraniaceae-Geranium ocellatum from Morni-GS-30 :  2 images. 2 posts by 2 authors.
Geranium ocellatum Camb. in Jacq. Voy. Ind. 4, Bot. 33. 1844.

Syn: Geranium bicolor Royle; Geranium choorense Royle; Geranium ocellatum var. himalaicum Knuth
A very distinctive among small flowered species with with pink flowers with dark base; erect or ascending annual herb with glandular hairs; stipules lanceolate, free; leaves opposite rounded to reniform, up to 6 cm broad, deeply 5-7 lobed, segments again 3 or more lobed, appressed hairy; flowers pink with dark purplish basal spot, solitary or in 2-flowered clusters, 10-15 mm across; sepals 4-7 mm long, mucro very small; petals twice as long as sepals, obovate; mericarps transeversely wrinkled, beak up to 15 mm long.
Photographed from Morni. Sorry for missing one petal.
I am treating it distinct from G. mascatense following eFlora of China, Pakistan and GRIN

There seems to be different interpretations of Geranium mascatense and G.ocellatum. This specimen does not show gaps between petals as is usually the case in photos of plants of G.mascatense in the Gulf – see below.

‘The Plant List’ gives G.ocellatum as a synonym of the former.  Whereas Nasir in ‘Flora of Pakistan’ separates the two.  Stewart does not list G,mascatense at all but has G.ocellatum var. himalaicum as common from 300-1800m.  Nasir, on the other hand, says that G.mascatense is only sparingly recorded from Pakistan and then only in Baluchistan.
G.mascatense is recorded from Africa and the Gulf – so Baluchistan fits OK with this. Collet had G.ocellatum in hill districts of N.India from same altitudes as Stewart.  IF they constitute separate species, I find it somewhat surprising to have G.mascatense in the Himalayan foothills.
I do not know on whose authority G.ocellatum has been sunk into G.mascatense. According to Nasir the species are very close but G.mascatense has puberulous mericarps – translating that into English:  in Geranium the dry fruits consists of 5 ‘mericarps’ each with a seed, which may be explosively dispersed though sometimes remains inside) the ‘puberulous’ part means downy with very short soft hairs.  So clearly, unless one can observe the fruits of a geranium this characteristic cannot be ascertained.  No doubt Nasir knew of other differences.
Taking a quick look at the images for G.mascastense available on the internet, most show marked gaps between the petals (as do the images taken in Muscat in the posting above this) compared with images of specimens from the foothills of the NW Himalaya (incl. the one near Chakki) which may constitute sufficient to justify them as separate taxa but without careful study of the whole plants cannot speculate if that is sufficient (or a consistent difference) to justify separation as varieties, subspecies or at the species level but the geographic/altitudinal/climatic differences may be of significance.
Cannot comment further at this stage.


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Balsaminaceae, Geraniaceae and Oxalidaceae Week: NS16: GERANIACEAE: Geranium mascatense from and Gori valleyMorni Hills : 6 images. 6 posts by 4 authors.
This lovely Geranium was shot from Gori Valley and from Morni Hills (the pic with one petal missing), I believe this to be Geranium mascatense Boisse …. please correct/validate..

I find Flora of China, a recent publication and which I trust more than the Plant List treating G. ocellatum as distinct species.


Thanks, …, Pl. see efi page Geranium mascatense.
As there is lot of confusion in various floras/ sources as per the refrences given in it, I have followed the Plant List.


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Morni Hills 2014: Geranium mascatense:: NS Feb 05 : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (7).

This beautiful Geranium..
having deep coloured centre of corolla was also encountered during my recent visit to Morni Hills..
I hope this should be Geranium mascatense Boiss.

There seems to be different interpretations of Geranium mascatense and G.ocellatum. This specimen does not show gaps between petals as is usually the case in photos of plants of G.mascatense in the Gulf – see below.
‘The Plant List’ gives G.ocellatum as a synonym of the former.  Whereas Nasir in ‘Flora of Pakistan’ separates the two.  Stewart does not list G,mascatense at all but has G.ocellatum var. himalaicum as common from 300-1800m.  Nasir, on the other hand, says that G.mascatense is only sparingly recorded from Pakistan and then only in Baluchistan.
G.mascatense is recorded from Africa and the Gulf – so Baluchistan fits OK with this. Collet had G.ocellatum in hill districts of N.India from same altitudes as Stewart.  IF they constitute separate species, I find it somewhat surprising to have G.mascatense in the Himalayan foothills.
I do not know on whose authority G.ocellatum has been sunk into G.mascatense. According to Nasir the species are very close but G.mascatense has puberulous mericarps – translating that into English:  in Geranium the dry fruits consists of 5 ‘mericarps’ each with a seed, which may be explosively dispersed though sometimes remains inside) the ‘puberulous’ part means downy with very short soft hairs.  So clearly, unless one can observe the fruits of a geranium this characteristic cannot be ascertained.  No doubt Nasir knew of other differences.
Taking a quick look at the images for G.mascastense available on the internet, most show marked gaps between the petals (as do the images taken in Muscat in the posting above this) compared with images of specimens from the foothills of the NW Himalaya (incl. the one near Chakki) which may constitute sufficient to justify them as separate taxa but without careful study of the whole plants cannot speculate if that is sufficient (or a consistent difference) to justify separation as varieties, subspecies or at the species level but the geographic/altitudinal/climatic differences may be of significance.
Cannot comment further at this stage.

I don’t have my literature here in USA but looking at Tropicos, there combinations under G. mascatense were proposed as early as 1976 by Raizada in Suppl. Duthie’s Fl. Upper Gangetic Plain 4: 36, but I don’t find any reference merging G. ocellatum proper under G. mascatense. It would be interesting to look up treatment in Flora of India Series, published after Raizada.
http://www.tropicos.org/NameSearch.aspx?name=Geranium+mascatense


Thanks for drawing my attention to this – I tend not to pay much attention to all the different name changes for most plants.
I see there is a var. himalaicum, which perhaps exhibits the closer/ overlapping petals cf. the forms from the Gulf such as:
http://www.floraofqatar.com/geranium_mascatense.htm

Have just checked ‘Flora of India’ which used G.ocellatum with G.mascatense as a synonym.
There is a rudimentary line drawing.
Account from Volume 4 (they don’t say which year this was published).
I don’t rate their distribution information for this species for India.

Looks strange Boiss 1842 getting relegated to synonymy of Cambess 1844, former should have been accepted name, unless some valid reason.


I agree.


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Geranium mascatense/ABMAR22 : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (5)
On my walk today I saw a sole specimen of this geranium. We have other geraniums too, more commonly, Nepal Geranium or Geranium nepalense, but I haven’t noticed this before. I am hoping to see more of this flower in the coming days.

Geranium mascatense or Black Eyed Geranium–Please confirm.
Mcleodganj, Dharamshala, HP
1750m
24 March 2015

Yes, this is Geranium mascatense, you will find plenty of this in days to come…


Thank you … I look forward to seeing more of these on our slopes.


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These geraniums are out for a couple of weeks now. I haven’t seen the mericarps so can’t say if it’s not G. ocellatum. The Plant List treats the two as synonyms but eflora of Pakistan offers them as two different species that have dissimilar mericarps. I am not sure what mericarps are but think that I have to peel the buds with long beaks to see them inside. I will do so soon.

29 Feb and 02 March 2016
Above Dharamshala, HP, 1800m
8 images.

Again wonderful captures, ….
A schizocarp /ˈskɪzəkɑːrp/ is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps. Pl. see the link

There seems to be different interpretations of Geranium mascatense and G.ocellatum. This specimen does not show gaps between petals as is usually the case in photos of plants of G.mascatense in the Gulf – see below.
‘The Plant List’ gives G.ocellatum as a synonym of the former.  Whereas Nasir in ‘Flora of Pakistan’ separates the two.  Stewart does not list G,mascatense at all but has G.ocellatum var. himalaicum as common from 300-1800m.  Nasir, on the other hand, says that G.mascatense is only sparingly recorded from Pakistan and then only in Baluchistan.
G.mascatense is recorded from Africa and the Gulf – so Baluchistan fits OK with this. Collet had G.ocellatum in hill districts of N.India from same altitudes as Stewart.  IF they constitute separate species, I find it somewhat surprising to have G.mascatense in the Himalayan foothills.
I do not know on whose authority G.ocellatum has been sunk into G.mascatense. According to Nasir the species are very close but G.mascatense has puberulous mericarps – translating that into English:  in Geranium the dry fruits consists of 5 ‘mericarps’ each with a seed, which may be explosively dispersed though sometimes remains inside) the ‘puberulous’ part means downy with very short soft hairs.  So clearly, unless one can observe the fruits of a geranium this characteristic cannot be ascertained.  No doubt Nasir knew of other differences.
Taking a quick look at the images for G.mascastense available on the internet, most show marked gaps between the petals (as do the images taken in Muscat in the posting above this) compared with images of specimens from the foothills of the NW Himalaya (incl. the one near Chakki) which may constitute sufficient to justify them as separate taxa but without careful study of the whole plants cannot speculate if that is sufficient (or a consistent difference) to justify separation as varieties, subspecies or at the species level but the geographic/altitudinal/climatic differences may be of significance.
Cannot comment further at this stage.

Thank you. The photos attached earlier in the same thread show the gap between petals, I am including a couple of them including the fruit with this reply for your convenience.
The more recent photos were of a fresh not fully opened flower, hence the absence of gap.
Please advise.

Thanks for additional photos and information.
Certainly would seem reasonable to me that there were some differences between forms of a species growing in the Himalayan foothills compared with those from sea-level deserts and that such variation should be recognised as a distinct taxon – whether at variety, subspecies or species level.
It is for taxonomists to decide on which category if such variation is consistent and valid.

Thank you … It is definitely reasonable given the differences in altitude and climate. I was merely pointing out that our flowers too have visible gaps between the petals.


 


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Geranium ocellatum ABAPR2019/02 : 7 posts by 5 authors. Attachments (10)

I have been looking at our black-eyed geraniums again. Following up on the earlier discussion on the group, where it was decided that the flowers found in our Himalayan region were G. ocellatum and not G. mascatense, I looked at the mericarps and am attaching the results. Also there is an excellent paper on the taxonomic revision here. (I had to request a friend to get it for me as I did not have the access and cannot share it with the group). Following the keys listed in the paper and matching them with our plants, I have no doubt that the species here is G. ocellatum.
A couple of additional visual cues pointing to the species are reddish stipules, a mucro-like projection on the petals and 5 leaf-segments. The mericarps are not only without hair but also differ in their ribbed design (on ocellatum there are no interconnecting ribs between the parallel ones).
Geranium ocellatum
Mcleodganj, Dharamshala, HP
1750m approx.
06, 20-27 April 2019.

I requested a pdf from the author. its a great exhaustive scholarly taxonomic review with geographic distribution, dissection and specimen drawings , scanning electron microscopy.
half of the botanical taxonomy lingo is beyond my quick perusal, but diagnostic features of all 7 species they describe is crystal clear.
the last of the 7 in the appears to be close to your case. …, thank you for this fantastic case, photos and providing the paper citation, so i could request the author reprint.
You out did yourself


Thank you … I agree with you …, the paper is excellent and cleared many doubts in my mind.


.


Geranium ocellatum Cambess.: 3 very high res. images.

Location: Timure, Surkhet,  Nepal
Altitude:  2100m.
Date:  22 March 2022
Habit : Wild 

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