''Dianthus'' () is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of about 340

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...

, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North America. Common names include carnation (''D. caryophyllus''), pink (''D. plumarius'' and related species) and sweet william (''D. barbatus'').

Description

The species are mostly herbaceous

perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

, a few are

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

, and some are low subshrubs with woody basal stems. The leaves are opposite, simple, mostly linear and often strongly glaucous grey green to blue green. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s have five petals, typically with a frilled or pinked margin, and are (in almost all species) pale to dark pink. One species, ''D. knappii'', has yellow flowers with a purple centre. Some species, particularly the perennial pinks, are noted for their strong spicy fragrance.

Species

Selected species include: Hybrids include; * 'Devon Xera' – Fire Star Dianthus * 'John Prichard'

Etymology

The name ''Dianthus'' is from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words δῖος ''dios'' ("of Zeus") and ἄνθος ''anthos'' ("flower"), and was cited by the Greek botanist

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routle ...

. The color

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

may be named after the flower, coming from the frilled edge of the flowers: the verb "to pink" dates from the 14th century and means "to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern". As is also demonstrated by the name of "

pinking shears Pinking shears are scissors with saw-toothed instead of straight blades. They produce a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge. Before pinking scissors were invented, a pinking punch or pinking iron was used to punch out a decorative hem o ...

", special scissors for cloth that create a zigzag or decorative edge that discourages fraying. Alternatively, "pink" may be derived from the Dutch "pinksteren" alluding to the season of flowering . "Pinksteren" means "Pentecost " in Dutch. Thus the colour may be named from the flower rather than the flower from the colour.

Ecology

''Dianthus'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some Lepidoptera species including

cabbage moth The cabbage moth (''Mamestra brassicae'') is primarily known as a pest that is responsible for severe crop damage of a wide variety of plant species. The common name, cabbage moth, is a misnomer as the species feeds on many fruits, vegetables, ...

, double-striped pug,

large yellow underwing The large yellow underwing (''Noctua pronuba'') is a moth, the type species for the family Noctuidae. It is an abundant species throughout the Palearctic realm, one of the most common and most familiar moths of the region. In some years the speci ...

and the lychnis. Also three species of ''

Coleophora ''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors ...

'' case-bearers feed exclusively on ''Dianthus''; ''C. dianthi'', ''C. dianthivora'' and ''C. musculella'' (which feeds exclusively on ''D. superbus'').

Cultivation

Since 1717, dianthus species have been extensively bred and hybridised to produce many thousands of

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s for garden use and

floristry Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related su ...

, in all shades of white, pink, yellow and red, with a huge variety of flower shapes and markings. They are often divided into the following main groups: * Border carnations – fully hardy, growing to , large blooms * Perpetual flowering carnations – grown under glass, flowering throughout the year, often used for exhibition purposes, growing to * Malmaison carnations – derived from the variety 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', growing to , grown for their intense "clove" fragrance * Old-fashioned pinks – older varieties; evergreen perennials forming mounds of blue-green foliage with masses of flowers in summer, growing to * Modern pinks – newer varieties, growing to , often blooming two or three times per year * Alpine pinks – mat-forming perennials, suitable for the rockery or

alpine garden An alpine garden (or alpinarium, alpinum) is a domestic or botanical garden, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in ...

, growing to Over 100 varieties have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit (see the

List of Award of Garden Merit dianthus Below is a list of ''Dianthus'' species and cultivars which have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. This is an important group of more-or-less fragrant summer-flowering perennial garden plants, which can be divided into ...

Culture

In the

language of flowers Floriography (language of flowers) is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and some form of floriography has been practiced in tradition ...

, pink ''Dianthus'' symbolize boldness. '' Dianthus gratianopolitanus'' – the Cheddar pink – was chosen as the

county flower In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in 2002 following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity

Plantlife Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...

.Plantlife websit
''County Flowers page''.
'' Dianthus japonicus'' is the official flower of

Hiratsuka 260px, Hiratsuka City Hall is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 257,316 and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hiratsuka is located ...

, Kanagawa, Japan.

Gallery

File:Dianthus alpinus Alpennelke Rax.jpg, '' Dianthus alpinus'' File:Spring Flowers.JPG, ''

Dianthus barbatus ''Dianthus'' () is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Ameri ...

'' File:Dianthus carthusianorum 160505.jpg, ''

Dianthus carthusianorum ''Dianthus carthusianorum'', commonly known as Carthusian pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'', native to Europe, from Spain north to Belgium and Poland, and east to Ukraine, occurring in dry, grassy habitats at elevations of up to in mountains.Fl ...

'' File:Starr 070730-7932 Dianthus caryophyllus.jpg, ''

Dianthus caryophyllus ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of '' Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.M ...

'' File:Dianthus caryophyllus0.jpg, ''

'' seed heads File:Dianthus chinensis × barbatus.jpg,

Hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

''Dianthus chinensis × barbatus'' File:Dianthus monspessulanus.jpg, '' Dianthus monspessulanus'' File:Dianthus monspessulanus 6.JPG, Carnation '' Dianthus monspessulanus'' File:Dianthus shinanensis Shinanonadeshiko in eboshidake 1997-8-14.jpg, '' Dianthus shinanensis''

References

External links

The Plant List
{{Taxonbar, from=Q156099 Caryophyllaceae genera Saponaceous plants Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus