Dianthus caryophyllus

The carnation, or clove pink, is a species of Dianthus known botanically as Dianthus caryophyllus. It hails from the Mediterranean region, though its original wild range is hard to pin down because people have been cultivating it for roughly two millennia.

Wild carnations are still most common around the Mediterranean. What makes them so prized is their huge range of colors, their delicate, fringed petals, and a fragrance that people often call spicy, clove-like, or a mix of cinnamon and nutmeg—hence the nickname "clove pink." That scent has made them a staple in perfumes, potpourri, and other scented goods. Culturally, carnations stand for affection, distinction, and maternal love, though the exact meaning shifts with the flower's color and the region.

Taxonomy

The ancient Greeks mentioned carnations in their literature 2,000 years ago. The Greek botanist Theophrastus coined the name Dianthus, combining the Greek words for "divine" (dios) and "flower" (anthos).

The common name "carnation" may come from the Latin corona (meaning wreath or garland, since the flower was used in Greek and Roman ceremonial crowns), or from caro (meaning flesh, referring to the flower's natural color), or from the Christian term incarnatio (incarnation). Carl Linnaeus formally described the species in the first volume of his Species Plantarum in 1753, giving it the name Dianthus caryophyllus. Though the name "carnation" originally applied only to this species, it is now often used for other Dianthus species and especially for garden hybrids between D. caryophyllus and its relatives.

Description

This plant is a herbaceous perennial that can grow up to 80 cm (32 inches) tall. Its leaves are glaucous—greyish green to blue-green—slender, and up to 15 cm (6 inches) long. Flowers appear singly or in clusters of up to five in a cyme. Each flower is about 3–5 cm (1¼–2 inches) across, sweetly scented, and hermaphrodite with radial symmetry.

The original natural color is a bright pinkish-purple, but breeders have developed cultivars in red, pink, yellow, white, and green. While cut flowers are sometimes dyed blue, no true blue carnation cultivar exists. The four to six egg-shaped, sharply pointed scale leaves around the calyx are only a quarter as long as the calyx tube.

Distribution and habitat

In the wild, carnations are found in Mediterranean countries: Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Greece, and Turkey.

Cultivation and uses

For cultivation, carnations need well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil and full sun. Many cultivars have been developed for gardens, such as 'Gina Porto', 'Helen', 'Laced Romeo', and 'Red Rocket'. Medicinally, they have been used for upset stomach and fever.

Historically, their fragrance was used in vinegar, beer, wine, sauces, and salads. Crossing D. caryophyllus with D. capitatus produces a hybrid resistant to bacterial wilt caused by Paraburkholderia caryophylli, but the resulting flower is less attractive, so further breeding and backcrossing are needed to improve it. Fragrance-free carnation cultivars are often worn by men as boutonnières or buttonholes.

Symbolically, carnations generally express love, fascination, and distinction, with many color-based variations. The red carnation, like the red rose, is a symbol of socialism, social democracy, democratic socialism, and the labour movement, and has often appeared in May Day demonstrations. In China, carnations are the most common flower used in weddings. In Portugal, bright red carnations were used during the 1974 overthrow of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, giving the event its name: the Carnation Revolution.

Light red carnations signify admiration; dark red ones mean deep love and affection. White carnations represent pure love and good luck, while striped (variegated) ones symbolize regret that a love cannot be shared. In the Netherlands, white carnations are linked to Prince Bernhard, who wore one during World War II; some Dutch people adopted the gesture in defiance, and after the war the white carnation became a sign of the Prince, veterans, and remembrance of the resistance.

Purple carnations indicate capriciousness. In France, carnations are a traditional funeral flower, given in condolence. The carnation is the birth flower for January.

Since Ottoman times, red carnations and tulips have appeared in interior wall paintings of mosques in Turkey—often said to represent Muhammad (carnations) and God (tulips)—though these designs also appear in other Ottoman traditional arts. In Azerbaijan, red carnations became a symbol of mourning after their use during the Black January events of 1990, a violent crackdown by USSR troops. In the United States, President William McKinley considered the red carnation his lucky flower and often wore one on his lapel; after his assassination in 1901, Ohio adopted the red carnation as its state flower in his honor. The formal name Dianthus comes from Greek for "heavenly flower" or the flower of Jove.

Carnations are often worn on special occasions, especially Mother's Day and weddings. In 1907, Anna Jarvis chose the carnation as the emblem of Mother's Day.