plant
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Also known as: Dianthus caryophyllus, clove pink, grenadine
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Also called:
- grenadine or clove pink
carnation, (Dianthus caryophyllus), herbaceous plant of the pink, or carnation, family (Caryophyllaceae), native to the Mediterranean area. It is widely cultivated for its fringe-petaled flowers, which often have a spicy fragrance, and is used extensively in the floral industry. See also pink (Dianthus).
There are two general groups, the border, or garden, carnations and the perpetual flowering carnations. Border carnations include a range of varieties and hybrids, 30 to 75 cm (1 to 2.5 feet) tall; the flowers, in a wide range of colours, are usually less than 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter and are borne on wiry, stiffly erect stems. The bluish green leaves are narrow, sheathing the stems; there are swellings at the junction of leaf and stem.
Britannica Quiz
Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous
The perpetual flowering carnation, perhaps derived from crosses between the border carnations and cottage pink (D. plumarius), is taller, up to 1 metre (3 feet) in height, is stouter, and produces larger flowers; it blooms almost continuously in the greenhouse. Miniature (baby) and spray varieties of the perpetual carnation are also grown for the florist trade.
Carnations are among the most popular commercial cut flowers, being used in floral arrangements, corsages, and boutonnieres. In 1907 Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia selected the pink carnation as the symbol for Mother’s Day. In Europe the carnation was formerly used as a treatment for fevers. It was also used to spice wine and ale during Elizabethan times, as a substitute for the more expensive clove (Syzygium aromaticum).
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.