74 
FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE 
(1759). Perennial; well suited for cutting for bouquets, and succeeding 
best when treated as an annual. 
G. prostrata (prostrate). A trailing plant about 1 foot high, with 
pink or red flowers, and narrow glaucous leaves. Flowering from July 
to September. Native of Central Asia (1759). Perennial. 
G. repens (creeping). 6 inches high, with few white or pale roso 
flowers in panicles. Leaves very slender, smooth. Flowers July to 
September. European Alps (1774). Perennial. Suitable for rockery, 
cultivation The ^gktness of the flower-clusters makes these plants 
m, on. ( j efi * ra ^ f or cu fc flowers. In flower-beds and borders the 
same character is valuable as affording a contrast with plants of stiffer 
and more compact habit. Seed may be sown from April to June, or the 
perennial species may be increased by cuttings, and division of the old 
plants. For successful culture, chalk, lime, or old mortar rubbish should 
be freely incorporated with the soil of a somewhat dry border. 
Description of The upper part of a plant of G. degans, showing the 
Plate 34. diffuse nature of the panicles. Fig. 1 is an enlarged flower, 
and Fig. 2 a section of same, giving details of structure. 
PINKS AND CARNATIONS 
Natural Order Caryophylle^e. Genus Dianthus 
Dianthus (Greek, Dios, divine, and anthos, flower—Jove’s-flower). A 
genus of alxiut seventy tufted herbs, mostly with a shrubby base. The 
leaves are opposite, more or less connate, as in Gypsophila, and of narrow, 
grass-like shape. The flowers are dichogamous, that is, though they 
each contain stamens and pistil, they are incapable of self-fertilisation, 
because one set of these organs does not mature until the other set has 
passed maturity. In Dianthus the stamens mature first, and the flowers 
are therefore proterandrous. The calyx is tubular, with five teeth at 
the top, and overlapping bracts at the base. Petals five, with a long 
narrow claw concealed within the calyx tube. Stamens ten, of which 
five ripen at one time and five later. Ovary one-celled, styles two. 
The species cultivated are mostly hardy perennials. They are dis¬ 
tributed throughout Europe, temperate Asia from the Atlantic to 
Eastern China, North and South Africa, and North-West America. 
History The genus Dianthus includes all those garden plants 
that go by the name of Pinks, Carnations, Picotees, and 
Sweet Williams. When it is said that the name Jove’s-flowers was 
