Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants which includes about 200 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly known as geraniums or storksbills. Confusingly, Geranium is the correct botanical name of a separate genus of related plants often called Cranesbills. Both genera are in the Family Geraniaceae. They are drought and heat tolerant, but can tolerate only minor frosts. Some species are extremely popular garden plants, grown as bedding plants in temperate regions.

Pelargonium glutinosum is an erect, well-branched, balm-scented shrub, up to 1.8 x 1 m. It has soft herbaceous stems when young but becomes woody as it matures. The glabrous to villous glandular hairs on the stem are green when young and become brown with age. The leaves are glabrescent with numerous glandular hairs and are green to dark green. The inflorescence consists of 1-8 pale to dark pink flowers. It flowers sporadically throughout the year with peak flowering periods during spring, September to November. The species is extremely variable with regards to flowers and leaves. There are three forms that can be distinguished in this shrub. Plants from the western distribution areas have deeply incised leaves with pale pink flowers. The buds of the flowers have a distinctive pear-shape. Reinhard Knuth in 1910 described this as Pelargonium erectum. Populations from the Limpopo Province resemble this growth form although they display smaller flowers. In the Karoo distribution areas plants have dark pink flowers with leaves that are less incised. Plants from the eastern distribution range have dark pink flowers with shallowly incised leaves. The distribution of these three forms is by no means disorganized and a continuous variation in leaf and floral characteristics occur. It is therefore not possible to recognize intraspecific taxa although considerable differences exist between the extreme forms.