Carnation
Overview
Dianthus caryophyllus (Clove Pink) is a species of Dianthus
. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden carnation.
It is a herbaceous
perennial plant
growing to 80 cm tall. The leaves
are glaucous
greyish green to blue-green, slender, up to 15 cm long.
Dianthus
Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species in arctic North America. Common names include carnation , pink and sweet William Dianthus is a genus of...
. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden carnation.
It is a herbaceous
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
growing to 80 cm tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are glaucous
Glaucous
Glaucous is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the Glaucous Gull , Glaucous-winged Gull , Glaucous Macaw , and Glaucous...
greyish green to blue-green, slender, up to 15 cm long.
