Dianthus plumarius

This article is about the flower. For the color, see Pink.

Dianthus plumarius, also known as the common pink, garden pink, wild pink or simply pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae.

Dianthus plumarius
Dianthus plumarius, garden pink
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Genus:	Dianthus
Species:	D. plumarius
Binomial name
Dianthus plumarius L.

Description

Close up of flower

Dianthus plumarius is a compact evergreen perennial reaching on average 30–60 centimetres (12–24 in) in height. The stem is green, erect, glabrous and branched on the top. The leaves are opposite, simple, linear and sessile, more or less erect and flexuous, with a sheath embracing the stem. They are about 3 millimetres (0.12 in) wide and about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long. The calyx is a green cylindrical tube about 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long, with reddish teeth. The flowers are radially symmetric, hermaphrodite, gathered in scapes of 3–5 flowers, with 10 stamens. They have five pink petals, 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in) long, with fringed margins. The flowering period extends from May through August. The fruits are capsules with a few seeds.^[1]

Distribution

Flower atlas print from 1884

This species is native to Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia, and naturalized in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom.^[2]

In the United States it is known to grow invasively in Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York State, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and California.^[3]

Etymology

While the origin of the name "pink" is uncertain, within two decades of its 1570 appearance in the written record, that flower's name was being used to refer to the pastel red known as pink in English today. Whether the pinking shear shares a common origin, or is named after the flower, is uncertain.^[4]

See also

• List of Award of Garden Merit dianthus

References

1. Shoot. "Dianthus plumarius Pink Common pink Wild pink Clove pink Cottage pink Feathered pink Garden pink Grass pink Indian eye Mary's pink Mother of all pinks Pheasant's eye Scottish pink Care Plant Varieties & Pruning Advice". www.shootgardening.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
2. "Hortipedia - Dianthus plumarius". en.hortipedia.com. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
3. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
4. Pink: Etymology – Dictionary.com
   1570s, common name of Dianthus, a garden plant of various colors, of unknown origin. Its use for "pale rose color" first recorded 1733 (pink-coloured is recorded from 1680s), from one of the colors of the flowers. The plant name is perhaps from pink (v.) via notion of "perforated" petals, or from Dutch pink "small" (see pinkie), from the term pinck oogen "half-closed eyes," literally "small eyes," which was borrowed into English (1570s) and may have been used as a name for Dianthus, which sometimes has pale red flowers.