Dianthus caryophyllus

Carnation

Family: Caryophyllaceae

Other common names: angelier (Afrikaans), 香石竹 (Chinese Simplified, Traditional), hvozdík zahradní (Czech), tuinanjer (Dutch), tarhaneilikka (Finnish), Œillet commun (French), オランダセキチク (Japanese), 카네이션 (Korean), hagenellik (Norwegian), cravo (Portuguese), Гвоздика садовая (Russian), clavel (Spanish), trädgårdsnejlika (Swedish)

IUCN Red List status: Not Evaluated

Plant description

The carnation is a long-stemmed flower that can grow up to 80cm tall. The leaves are grey-green, thin and grow in pairs on either side of the stem, up to 15 cm long. The flowers are around 3 to 5cm across, and either grow individually or in a cluster at the top of the stem. The natural flower colour is pink-purple, but cultivars come in a range of colours including red, pink, yellow, white, and green. The flowers have a slightly spicy aroma, said to be similar to cinnamon, clove and nutmeg.

Read the scientific profile for the carnation

A large pink carnation flower — Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus), David J Stang on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

A large green carnation flower — Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus), Bernhard Hanakam on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

A large red and white carnation flower — Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus), 阿橋 HQ on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0

A row of silvery green carnation leaves — Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) leaves, DenesFeri on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Plant uses

Cultural

Red carnations are associated with love and affection. They are also linked to socialism and labour movements. In Portugal, red carnations are linked to the fall of the Estado Novo regime in 1974. While in Azerbaijan, they are linked to the Black January Massacre of 1990.

White carnations symbolise good luck, purple carnations symbolise a mercurial nature and yellow carnations symbolise rejection and disappointment.

Green carnations became a symbol of homosexual love due to Oscar Wilde’s wearing of one, and the subsequent satire inspired by him, The Green Carnation by Robert Hichens.

In the USA, carnations are linked to Mother’s Day.

Carnations are the flower associated with the first wedding anniversary.

Food and drink

While not used today, the fragrance of carnations meant they were historically used in beer, wine and salads.

Did you know?

The name carnation either comes from the Latin corona, referring to flower crowns made from carnations, or carnis, meaning flesh, referring to the natural pink colour of the flower.
White carnations are often used in a classic science experiment showing how plants absorb water by placing them in a pot of dyed water, and observing the colour change in the petals.

Where in the world?

A map of the world showing where carnation is native and introduced to

Native: Albania, Greece, Yugoslavia

Introduced: Czechoslovakia, East European Russia, France, Kazakhstan, Korea, Peru, Romania, Spain, Tadzhikistan, Trinidad-Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam

Habitat:

Well-drained environments across the Mediterranean.