The Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) is a flowering plant native to the Near East and has been cultivated for the last 2,000 years. Its original natural flower colour was pinkish-hued (flesh-like or "carnal", hence the name "carnation"), but later, cultivars of other colours, including red, white, yellow and greenish, have been developed. Download high resolution version (1208x1565, 830 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families Achatocarpaceae Aizoaceae (Fig-marigold family) Amaranthaceae (amaranth family) Ancistrocladaceae Asteropeiaceae Barbeuiaceae Basellaceae (basella family) Cactaceae (cactus family) Caryophyllaceae (carnation family) Dioncophyllaceae Droseraceae (sundew family) Drosophyllaceae Frankeniaceae Molluginaceae (carpetweed family) Nepenthaceae Nyctaginaceae (four-oclock family) Physenaceae Phytolaccaceae (pokeweed family) Plumbaginaceae (plumbago family) Polygonaceae (buckwheat family) Portulacaceae (purslane family) Rhabdodendraceae... Genera See text The Caryophyllaceae, the Pink or Carnation family, are a family of dicotyledons, flowering plants, included in the order Caryophyllales. ... Species About 300 species; see text Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species () in arctic North America. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... A painting of Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné  listen, and who wrote under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing the Levant (modern Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Anatolia (modern Turkey), Mesopotamia (Iraq and eastern Syria), and the Iranian Plateau (Iran). ... A cultivar is a cultivated variety of a plant species. ...

Although originally applied to the species Dianthus caryophyllus, the name Carnation is also often applied to some of the other species of Dianthus, and more particularly to garden hybrids between D. caryophyllus and other species in the genus. Species About 300 species; see text Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species () in arctic North America. ... In biology, hybrid has three meanings. ...

Some scholars believe that the name "carnation" comes from "coronation" or "corone" (flower garlands), as it was one of the flowers used in Greek ceremonial crowns. Others think the name stems from the Greek carnis (flesh), which refers to the original color of the flower, or incarnacyon (incarnation), which refers to the incarnation of God made flesh.

Sentiment and symbolism

Carnations painted by Redouté

Carnations are often worn on special occasions, especially Mother's Day and weddings. They were known as "Jove's Flower" in ancient Rome as a tribute to one of their beloved gods. In Korea, a young girl places three carnations in her hair to tell her fortune. If the top flower dies first, her last years of life will be difficult; if it is the middle flower, her earlier years will bring the most grief. Worst of all, if the bottom flower dies first, the poor girl will be miserable her whole life. carnations painted by Pierre-Joseph Redoute This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759 - 1840) was a French painter, best known for his paintings of the flowers at Malmaison. ... Mothers Day is a day for celebrating motherhood and thanking mothers. ... Location within Italy The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. ... Korea (한국) is a formerly unified country, situated on the Korean Peninsula in northern East Asia, bordering on China to the west and Russia to the north. ...

The carnation is also the symbol of the Portuguese Carnation Revolution. The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese, Revolução dos Cravos) was an almost bloodless left-leaning revolution started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a liberal democracy at the end of a two year process of a communist dominated military administration. ...

For the most part, carnations express love, fascination, and distinction. Light red carnations represent admiration, while dark red denote deep love and affection. White carnations indicate pure love and good luck; striped symbolize a regret that a love cannot be shared. Green carnations are for St. Patrick's Day; purple carnations indicate capriciousness. Green carnations are, or were, worn by homosexuals as a semi-secret sign of their homosexuality; the allusion was to Green Carnation, a lyric from Bitter Sweet by Noël Coward: St. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ... Lyric can have a number of meanings. ... Bitter Sweet was an operetta written by Noel Coward and first produced in 1929. ... Noël Coward Sir Noel Peirce Coward (spelling his forename Noël with the diaeresis was an affectation of later life, and Peirce is the correct spelling) (December 16, 1899 - March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ...

Pretty boys, witty boys,

You may sneer

At our disintegration.

Haughty boys, naughty boys,

Dear, dear, dear!

Swooning with affectation ...

And as we are the reason

For the Nineties being gay,

We all wear a green carnation.

Pink carnations have the most symbolic and historical significance. According to Christian legend, carnations first appeared on Earth as Jesus carried the Cross. The Virgin Mary shed tears at Jesus' plight, and carnations sprang up from where her tears fell. Thus the pink carnation became the symbol of a mother's undying love, and in 1907 was chosen by Ann Jarvis as the emblem of Mother's Day, now observed in the United States and Canada on the second Sunday in May. A red carnation may be worn if one's mother is alive, and a white one if she has died. Earth, also known as the Earth or Terra, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... Jesus, also known as Jesus Christ*, Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus the Nazarene, is the central figure in Christianity. ... A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars intersecting each other at a 90° angle, dividing one or two of the lines in half. ... The term Virgin Mary has several different meanings: For the historical and multi-denominational concept of Mary, see Mary, the mother of Jesus. ... Mothers Day is a day for celebrating motherhood and thanking mothers. ...

External links

• Wikibooks' Gardening-Carnations