Carnations

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The carnations (dianthus) form a plant genus in the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). The 320 to 600 species occur in the temperate areas of the northern hemisphere.

Description

Vegetative characteristics
Carnation species are usually persistent, rarely mono- (Dianthus armenria) or biennial herbaceous plants. Rarely are these micro smokes such as Dianthus fruticosus. Sometimes the plants form pads. Strong pile roots and sometimes thin or strong rhizomes are formed. The upright to ascending, single or branched stems are round or angular. Typical for all cloves is the dichasial branching.

The opposite foliage leaves are simple. Leaf stems are present or absent. The narrow, parallel or usually single-nerved leaf spread is linear, lancet to egg-shaped.

Generative characteristics
The flowers stand together individually or in several in terminal, cymous or headed inflorescences. The green to dry bracts are present in pairs or missing. At the bottom of the flowers are one to three pairs of green to dry cover leaves, which can be reduced to wide scales.

The twisted, radially symmetrical flowers are five-fold with a double flower shell (Perianth). The flowers of some species smell. The five green to reddish chalice leaves are tuberous at their base. The chalice tube ends in five chalical teeth with three to eight nerves each; the chalice teeth are shorter than the chalice tube. The most dry edges of the cup teeth are red to white. Sometimes there is an outer chalice. The five nailed crown petals are usually toothed, notched or slit. The colours of the crown leaves range from white to pink and red to purple; Sometimes they are spotted or they are darker inside. There is never a minor crown in this genus; This distinguishes them from other related genera (silene). The petals are often bearded in the crown tube. There are two circles with five fertile stamens each. Nectariums are present at the base of the stamens. Two fruit leaves are grown into an upper, single-chamber fruit knot with many seed plants. The thin punches with two or two branched pencils have a length of 0.7 to 6 mm. Often a gynophore or carpophore is formed. The scars are papillary.

The flower formula is:

The stemmed capsule fruit standing upright in the chalice is egg-shaped to cylindrical and the “carpophore” is often still present. The capsule fruit opens at the top with four teeth or short flaps and contains 40 to over 100 seeds. The blackish-brown seeds have no wings or appendages.

Nomenclature and distribution
The genus Dianthus was erected in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum, Tomus I, p. The splendor of the flowers and the fragrance of the carnations has Linné in the botanical generic name Dianthus fixed