Dianthus (/daɪˈænθəs/dy-AN-thəs)[1] is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the familyCaryophyllaceae, 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 herbaceousperennials, a few are annual or biennial, 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 flowers 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.
The name Dianthus is from the Greek διόσανθος, a compound from the words Δῖος Dios ("of Zeus") and ἄνθος anthos ("flower"), and was cited by the Greek botanist Theophrastus.[3] The color pink 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", 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.
Since 1717, dianthus species have been extensively bred and hybridised to produce many thousands of cultivars for garden use and floristry, 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:[4][5]
Border carnations – fully hardy, growing to 60 cm (24 in), large blooms
Perpetual flowering carnations – grown under glass, flowering throughout the year, often used for exhibition purposes, growing to 150 cm (59 in)
Malmaison carnations – derived from the variety 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', growing to 70 cm (28 in), 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 45 cm (18 in)
Modern pinks – newer varieties, growing to 45 cm (18 in), often blooming two or three times per year
Alpine pinks – mat-forming perennials, suitable for the rockery or alpine garden, growing to 10 cm (4 in)
In Japan, Dianthus superbus - the fringed pink or nadeshiko - is used in the term Yamato nadeshiko to describe the archetype of a traditional ideal woman.
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