scarlet geranium
nounEtymology Named for the vibrant red color of its flowers, and similarity of the genus Pelargonium to the related Geranium.
1
A small annual flowering shrub, endemic to South Africa, of species Pelargonium inquinans, popular as an ornamental plant during the Victorian era.
- In the leaded window, high up, a row of pots of scarlet geraniums and blue larkspur gave the bright note of colour against the dull background of the oak.1905, Baroness Emmusca Orczy, chapter II, in The Scarlet Pimpernel, page 14: