| Dianthus thunbergii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Dianthus |
| Species: | D. thunbergii |
| Binomial name | |
| Dianthus thunbergii S.S.Hooper, 1959 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Dianthus thunbergii (Thunberg's wild pink) is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae.[1]
It is indigenous to the southwestern Cape, South Africa, where it occurs on rocky slopes from Swellendam in the Western Cape, eastwards into the Eastern Cape Province.[2]
Description
Dianthus thunbergii is a spreading or tufted herbaceous perennial reaching 40 cm, with linear (50mm x 3mm) blue-grey leaves.
The inflorescence is usually sparsely branched and rises c. 20cm above the plants, bearing 2-5 flowers.
The flowers are usually pink (sometimes white), 15mm wide, and appear in Spring-Summer (Sept-Feb.). The petals are shortly fimbriate to dentate.[3]
The calyx is cylindrical and 20-30 mm in length. The lower half of the calyx is covered with 2-4 bract pairs. The bracts are lanceolate or acute to acuminate in shape.[4]
Related species
In the far western extent of its distribution range, D. thunbergii co-occurs with a related species, Dianthus albens, but D. thunbergii can be distinguished from the latter species by a combination of its longer calyx (20-30 mm long, rather than 12-18 mm); by the narrower lobes at the tip of its calyx (narrowly ovate, rather than deltoid-ovate); by the shape of the bracts at the base of the calyx (lanceolate-elliptic, rather than ovate-elliptic); by the number of bract pairs at the base of the calyx (2-4, rather than 1-3); by its uniformly dentate to shortly fimbriate petal tips (rather than entire-crenulate to rarely shallowly dentate); and by its seed capsule not extending beyond the calyx when ripe.
It also co-occurs with another related species, Dianthus caespitosus, but D. thunbergii can be distinguished from the latter species by its calyx which is shorter (20-30 mm, rather than 32-65mm long).[5]
References
- ↑ "Threatened Species Programme | SANBI Red List of South African Plants". redlist.sanbi.org.
- ↑ Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2000. Cape Plants: A conspectus of the Cape Flora of South Africa. Strelitzia 9. National Botanical Institute, Cape Town. p.460
- ↑ Burtt Davy, J. 1922. XXXIII. A Revision of the South African Species of Dianthus. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information 7. pp. 209-223. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ↑ Vlok, J. and Schutte-Vlok, A.L. 2010. Plants of the Klein Karoo. Umdaus Press, Hatfield.
- ↑ Hooper, S.S. 1959. The genus Dianthus in central and South Africa. Hooker's Icones Plantarum 37 / 7(1). pp.1-59. Bentham-Moxon Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Data related to Dianthus thunbergii at Wikispecies