Wild (True) Geraniums

I was curious about the difference between wild geraniums and tame geraniums and was surprised to learn that the familiar garden geranium (so-called zonal geranium) is not a geranium at all - it's a pelargonium (Pelargonium zonale).

So these wildflowers (Geranium maculatum), which are abundant right now, are the real thing. An alternative name is cranesbill, from the shape of the seedpod, and that is where the name geranium comes from - the Greek word "geranos" meaning "crane".

Polk County, Wisconsin