Sturdy, hairy shrub up to 2m, woody at the base; most conspicuous pelargonium of the south western Cape and very showy when in flower. Leaves aromatic, cup-shaped and hairy, sometimes having an attractive red margin; flowers, faintly scented, vary in colour from pink to pink-purple with darker veins on the upper 2 petals; a white form is sometimes seen; bright orange pollen.

Flowering in swathes after fire.

Greek: pelargos = stork, -ium = resemblance, connection; referring to the seedpods of this genus resembling the beak of a stork.