476 



DIANELLA 



DIANTHUy 



oc. Veins of the perianth-segments crowded into a 



central space. 



revoKita, R. Br. Height 2-3 ft. : Ivs. in a rosette, 1- 

 1% ft. long, 3-4 lines wide, dark green, purplish at the 

 base and margin, not spiny at the margin : panicle 

 branches short, ascending : fls. later than D. ccerulea. 

 W. and E. Australia in temperate parts. Tasmania. 

 B.R. 9: 734 and 13:1120. 



AA. Stems present but short. 



caerulea, Sims. Subshrubby, with a short stem in age, 

 branching: Ivs. about 6, clustered at the ends of branches, 

 9-12 in. long, 0-9 lines wide, dark green, rough on the 

 back and margin : outer perianth -segments with 5 distant 

 veins, inner ones with 3 closer veins. Eastern temper- 

 ate Australia. B.M. 505. 



ensifdlia, Red. Caulescent herb, 3-6 ft. high, the Ivs. 

 never in a rosette, numerous, hard, linear, 1-2 ft. long, 

 9-12 lines wide, lighter colored on the keel and margin: 

 fls. blue or greenish white. Trop. Asia, China, Aus- 

 tralia, Hawaiian Islands. B.M. 1404. ^. M. 



DIANTHUS (Greek for Jove's flower). Caryophylld- 

 cece. PINK. About 200 species of Old World small herbs, 

 many of them prized for their rich and showy flowers. 

 Nearly all of them are perennials ; they form tufts and 

 have grass-like Ivs., and jointed stems with terminal 

 fls. and opposite Ivs. From kindred genera Dianthus 

 is distinguished by the sepal-like bracts at the 

 base of a cylindrical calyx (cf. Figs. 366, 367) ; petals 

 without a crown; styles 2. They are temperate-region 

 plants. The flowers are usually pink or red, but in 

 garden forms white and purple are frequent colors. 

 Most of the cult, species are hardy in the north and are 

 easy of culture. The perennial species are excellent 

 border plants. The chief care required in their cultiva- 

 tion is to see that the grass does not run them out. 

 Best results in flowering are obtained usually from 2- 

 year-old seedling plants. Two weedy species, D. pro- 

 lifer, Linn., and D. Armeria, Linn., are naturalized in 

 the eastern states. Monogr. by F. N. Williams, Journ. 

 Linn. Soc. 29 (1891-3). L< H> B> 



Dianthus is essentially a European genus, there being 

 butone species found native on this continent(Z>.ofynMS, 

 found in high northern regions and in Europe), though 

 others are escapes from gardens, such as D. deltoides 

 and D. barbatus. Among the gems of the genus are 

 various pretty little alpine tufted sorts as D. neglectus, 

 D. glacialis and D. alpinus , all of which are of dwarf, 

 close habit, not exceeding 3 in. in height and having 

 very iarge single flowers of brightest colors. These are 

 suited only for rock gardening, as on level ground they 

 often become smothered with weeds or swamped with 

 soil after a heavy rain storm, and to these two causes 

 are attributable the failures tocultivate them. Dianthuses 

 like a warm soil, and one that will not become too wet 

 at any time, especially in winter, where the perennial 

 kinds are grown, as they are often killed not so much 

 from cold as from too much ice round them. Snow is the 

 best possible protection, but ice is the reverse. 



All Dianthuses are readily propagated from seeds 

 sown in rich soil, but the double kinds are reproduced 

 from cuttings alone to be sure to have them true, and in 

 the fall months cuttings are easily rooted if taken with 

 a "heel" or a part of the old stem adhering to the 

 base of the shoot; so that to make cuttings it is best to 

 strip them off rather than to make them with a knife. It 

 will be found also that, if cuttings made from plants 

 growing in the open ground do not root readily but seem 

 to dry up in the cutting bench, if the plants to be in- 

 creased are carefully lifted and potted, placed in a tem- 

 perature of say 50 until young growth shows signs 

 of starting, every cutting taken off at this stage will 

 root easily. The transition from outdoors to the propa- 

 gating house should not be too abrupt. Another method 

 of propagation is by layering, and with the garden 

 Pinks, or forms of D. piumarius, it is the easiest and 

 surest. After hot weather is past stir the soil round 

 the parent plant, take the branches that have a portion 

 of bare stem, make an incision half way through and 

 along the stem for an inch, and peg this down in the soil 

 without breaking the shoot off (Fig. 370). Roots will be 



formed and good strong plants be the result before* 

 winter. The layering method is specially suitable to such 

 species as D. piumarius, D. Caryophyllus and double 

 forms of others, such as Sweet William. g Q QRPET. 



Index: alpinus, 11; atrorubens, 2; barbatus, 5; capi- 

 tatus,3; Carthusianorum,2; Caryophyllus, 8; Chinensis,, 



700. Sweet William -Dianthus barbatus (X 



13; Cincinnatus, 13; cinnabarimis, 1; cruentus, 4; del 

 toides, 10; dentosiis, 13; diadematus, 13; glacialis, 12; 

 Heddewigi, 13; hybridus, 13; imperialis, 13; laciniatus, 

 13; latifolius, 14; macrosepalus, 13; piumarius, 6; punc- 

 tatus, 8 ; semperflorens, 13; Sinensis, 13; superbus, 7; 

 sylvestris,9; viscordalis, sub 14. 



A. flowers in dense cymes or in heads, the cluster often 



subtended by involucre-like Ivs. 

 B. Petals not bearing hairs or barbs : bracts dry. 



1. cinnabar inus, Sprun. A ft. high, woody at base, 

 perennial, blooming in Aug. and Sept. : Ivs. linear, 

 sharp-pointed and rigid : petals fiery red above, paler 

 beneath, glandular: stamens included. Greece. Hand- 

 some little species; useful for hardy border or rockery. 



BB. Petals with hairs or barbs on the lower part of the 

 blade. 



2. Carthusiandrum, Linn. (D. atrdrubens, Willd.)- 

 Hardy perennial or biennial, glabrous, scarcely glaucous, 

 12-18 in. high, the stem angled: Ivs. short, linear and 

 pointed, without prominent nerves when fresh : fls. in 

 a dense, 6-20-fld. head, in shades of red, the petals 

 sharply but not deeply toothed, the cluster subtended 



