Carnation

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	[[Lifespan::Perennial]]

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	Sun"Sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	regular to dry"regular to dry" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Features:	✓	Flowers, Fragrance, Naturalizes

Scientific Names

Carnations are cultivars of Dianthus caryophyllus - a species of Dianthus.

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. The flowers are produced singly or up to five together in a cyme; they are 3–5 cm diameter, and sweetly scented; the original natural flower colour is bright pinkish-purple, but cultivars of other colours, including red, white, yellow and green, have been developed.

Cultivation

A Carnation cultivar

Carnations require well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil, and full sun. Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden planting. Typical examples include 'Gina Porto', 'Helen', 'Laced Romeo', 'Red Rocket'.

Propagation

Seed.

Pests and diseases

Main article: List of carnation diseases

Taxonomy

? Scientific classification
Domain: {{{domain}}} Superkingdom: {{{superregnum}}} Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: {{{subregnum}}} Superdivision: {{{superdivisio}}} Superphylum: {{{superphylum}}} Division: Magnoliophyta Phylum: {{{phylum}}} Subdivision: {{{subdivisio}}} Subphylum: {{{subphylum}}} Infraphylum: {{{infraphylum}}} Microphylum: {{{microphylum}}} Nanophylum: {{{nanophylum}}} Superclass: {{{superclassis}}} Class: Magnoliopsida Sublass: {{{subclassis}}} Infraclass: {{{infraclassis}}} Superorder: {{{superordo}}} Order: Caryophyllales Suborder: {{{subordo}}} Infraorder: {{{infraordo}}} Superfamily: {{{superfamilia}}} Family: Caryophyllaceae Subfamily: {{{subfamilia}}} Supertribe: {{{supertribus}}} Tribe: {{{tribus}}} Subtribe: {{{subtribus}}} Genus: Dianthus Subgenus: {{{subgenus}}} Section: {{{sectio}}} Series: {{{series}}} Species: D. caryophyllus Subspecies: {{{subspecies}}}
[[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]]
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Binomial name
Dianthus caryophyllus L.
Trinomial name
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Type Species
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Synonyms
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Some scholars believe that the name "carnation" comes from "coronation" or "corone" (flower garlands), as it was one of the flowers used in Greek ceremonial crowns. Others think the name stems from the Latin "caro" (genitive "carnis") (flesh), which refers to the original colour of the flower, or incarnatio (incarnation), which refers to the incarnation of God made flesh.

Although originally applied to the species Dianthus caryophyllus, the name Carnation is also often applied to some of the other species of Dianthus, and more particularly to garden hybrids between D. caryophyllus and other species in the genus.

Distribution and habitat

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.

Gallery

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  Carnations painted by Redouté

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  Dianthus caryophyllus

External links

• Wikibooks' Gardening-Carnations
• Carnations and Pinks Resources
• Carnations and the Floriculture Industry: Records of the Colorado Flower Growers Association