Pelargonium rapaceum

The name of the species comes from the Latin language and indicates the similarity of the caudex to a turnip. It is a caudiciform plant extremely sought after for its unusual and asymmetrical forms, which make every single plant unique and never identical to others! It has a tuber that is partially underground or, at times, completely exposed for ornamental purposes. It is formed by a very varied, lumpy shape and also by the rough epidermis, similar to the bark of a tree. From the caudex, in the cold periods, slightly hairy leaves grow with a particular carrot shape while, even before vegetating, already in summer Pelargonium rapaceum shows its peculiar clusters of flowers with petals folded on themselves. Not many people know that due to the great quantity of water and nutrients that the tuber may contain, in the lands of origin it is commonly utilized, after cooking between the ashes, as a sort of "mountain potato".