Help me identify this plant

Hi will you help me in identifying this plant?
I only have the scanned copy of its leaves, though.
Thanks so much.

do the leaves have any scent?

Looks like some kind of geranium. Is that why you asked about scent Tuinkabouter? Is the leaf fuzzy?

yes, the leaves has a minty scent and is kinda rough due to very small needle-like "structures" (sorry, i dunno how to call it). the plant is branchy but the trunk and stems are not wood-like.

i haven't seen it flowered yet although at the moment it's about 2 feet high.

Must be a pelargonium of some kind. That's why I asked for the smell. Now we'll have to wait for the flower! There's so many scented leaf species in this family that there's no telling without flower.....

Myleen,
How did you come by this plant? Geraniums have interesting cultural requirements, but you should be able to grow and flower them where you are. Where is the plant? They like cool temps and lots of sun for part of the year. Is this a challenge for you (?). They can handle pretty hot Summer temps with lots of water and fertilizer. Where I am, I grow and bloom them inside, in pots, during the winter and bed them out in Spring, keeping cuttings, or plants dug up in Fall. If your temps are warm year around they will require good helpings of fertilizer. I can only stab at culture as I am in such a different zone, but I did grow up in S. Florida, where it is much hotter, and we can grow geraniums there as well. In hot climates they look their best in the winter and limp through the summer.

Actually, it's not me who's taking care of the plant. It's our university's gardener. =)
The plant is indoor (airconditioned) and just where the sun shines the whole day. However, I do not know the frequency that the gardener brings it out.
Anyway, i do not know much about plants and i need to know the name of this one for my project. I've now able to take a snapshot of the plant.

Thank you so much.

I still think this is a geranium. Go to the geranium forum and ask there. There should be lots of experts on geraniums as there are many varieties and people who concentrate on these for their collections.

Laurel

Thanks Laurel & Tuink. =)
Geranium or pelargonium... al least, i have only two choices to choose from.

are you sure this scent is minty and not lemony? this looks just like a mosquito plant. i don't know a scientific name but in the south we use it to repel mosquitos. drought tolerant and it won't bloom.

I think you're probably talking about citronella, which is a type of Pelargonium (P. citrosum) http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54668/ There are a ton of different scented Pelargoniums, typically the leaves on a lot of them look very similar but they have a wide range of different scents.

My thought exactly, that's why we need a flower!

Dear Myleen,
This plant resembles the photos in the Plant Files under Pelargonium and Mosquito plant. or Pelargonium citrosum. I wouldn't go too much by the exact scent because I think about half of scented geraniums smell like lemon and not the names they are given. Just my nose, I think. The flowers on this Pelargonium are insignificant as it is grown for its scented foliage. Pelargoniums are pretty easy to root from cuttings. Maybe you can get a piece of this one and grow it for your own.
Martha

I is definitely Pelargonium, either lemon or minty, no matter, the flowers are either white or pink depending on which one you have, the flowers are very small and come in groups like all these plants do, it can grow to about 3 feet tall but will be very bare at the bottom if that tall, you need to cut it back every year to prevent it growing tall and bare, the stems on all are woody and can snap off if brushed against, the only thing I would say is dont have it sitting too close to the air conditioning as they dont like wind or cold drafts, sun is good but not magnified through glass onto the leaves or it will shrivel up and burn the foliage, in olden days, ladies used to have small bunches of the lemon type in there petticoats to hide the lack of bathing, others used it for laying inside there clothes drawers to make them smell nice and some poorer folks scattered the foliage on the floors to keep insects away, in more modern times, the foliage is used in cooking and the lemon type is great used in rice puddings, so no matter what type you have, it has had it's uses for centuries. good luck. WeeNel.

you gals (or guys?) definitely made me snap another leaf and smell it again. and yep, it's lemony. =) sorry, my nose isn't that good in differentiating. anyhow, thank you so much for your help. as a token of my appreciation, i'm posting it's magnified image for you. =)

Wow! What a great picture!
Martha

thanks. glad you liked it. actually, that's the backside of its leaf. =)

Because your leaves have tiny little hairs on them (underside OR on top) you should try not to let too much water sit on the leaves, but an occasional misting to keep dust off the leaves wont hurt it as these plants are as tough as old boots. good luck. WeeNel.

myleen that is an amazing macro shot! It looks like something foreign.
:) Donna

Myleen,

Your plant strongly resemble the citronella plant which is in the geranium family and is also referred to as the mosquito plant. I had one, a beautiful one and boy does it grow, unfortunately I tried to propagate and with no knowledge of how to do it, I ruined it.

Hi Everyone,

Hope all is well with you and yours. There is another begonia species catagorized as a thick stem, I saw it on the web and it is stunning. It's called the Virginia jens and I believe the botanical name for it is crassicaulis x sericoneura, it's a hybrid. I don't consider myself plant literate, I just love plants and I'd love to have one even if its a pup. Any help would be appreciated.