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Original Research
Phytogeography of Pelargonium
Submitted: 03 November 1983 | Published: 06 November 1983
About the author(s)
J. J. A. van der Walt, Department of Botany. University of Stellenbosch, South AfricaP. J. Vorster, Department of Botany. University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
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The vast majority of the approximately 2(H) species of Pelargonium oeeurs in Africa. About SO per cent of the species are endemic to the winter rainfall region of the Cape Province, and the centre of distribution lies in the south-western Cape.
The distribution of the individual sections are discussed with the aid of distribution maps. The centre of distribution of most sections is in the south-western Cape, hut a few sections are centred in the eastern and western Cape. Several sections are represented by a few species in the summer rainfall region of southern Africa.
As no fossils of Pelargonium are known, deductions about the origin of the genus can only be based on the present distribution of species, according to which arguments in favour of both a northern and a southern origin can he supported.
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Crossref Citations
1. Observations on the pollination of Pelargonium tricolor, section Campylia (Geraniaceae)
D.J. McDonald, J.J.A. van der Walt
South African Journal of Botany vol: 58 issue: 5 first page: 386 year: 1992
doi: 10.1016/S0254-6299(16)30826-2