Rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) is the soft, deeply lobed, velvety leaf of a South African scented pelargonium, prized for a warm aroma that reads as rose crossed with lemon, green and a faint mint — a fragrance carried almost entirely in the leaf rather than in the plant's small pink flowers. Bruised, steeped, layered or infused, the leaf perfumes cakes, custards, jellies, syrups, sugars and jams, and its steam- distilled oil (sold as geranium or "rose geranium" oil) is a mainstay of perfumery and a common natural stand-in for costly rose. It is the best known of the culinary scented geraniums, the leaf that gives a Victorian sponge or a blackberry jelly its unmistakable floral lift.