Dianthus carthusianorum L.

Kew Species Profiles

General Description

Carthusian pink is an elegant, hardy, small-flowered Dianthus named in honour of the Carthusian order of monks.

Dianthus carthusianorum was named to commemorate the monks of the Carthusian order, founded in the 11th century in the Chartreuse Valley in the French Alps.

Carthusian pink is occasionally found in Britain as a garden escape, but the exact date of introduction to the British Isles is unknown. It is possible that it was introduced to Britain by the Carthusians themselves, when they arrived there in about 1180, having been granted land in Somerset by Henry II.

A notable feature of Carthusian foundations was that each monk had their own walled garden. At one point there were 11 Carthusian monasteries in Britain, but in the Reformation these were all closed and the communities disbanded. Therefore, if the plant was introduced by the monks, it must have occurred before 1536, and was probably the plant recorded by Gerard in 1597 as 'single red sewt Johns', before the return of the Carthusian order to Britain in 1873. Carthusian monks traditionally used the plant to treat muscle pain and rheumatism.

Nowadays, Carthusian pink and the closely related Dianthus giganteus are grown by those who appreciate their understated elegance. 

Species Profile

Geography and distribution

Common throughout Europe, occurring naturally from Spain and France (but not Britain) east to Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine, and south to Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Description

Overview: A perennial, up to 60 cm tall, with narrow, grass-like leaves and dense heads of flowers.

Flowers: The individual flowers have magenta, purple or pink (occasionally white), toothed petals, and a narrow, tube-shaped calyx. The flowers, which are only lightly scented, are borne in flat-headed clusters on slender, upright stems throughout the summer.

Pollination is carried out by butterflies (those with probosces long enough to reach the nectar at the base of the narrow, tube-shaped calyx).

Threats and conservation

Carthusian pink is common in the wild throughout much of Central Europe, but is considered to be rare in some parts of its range (eg in Bulgaria). A study carried out on a large population of Dianthus carthusianorum in the Rhône Valley in the Swiss Alps concluded that persistence of this population was at risk because its pollination was dependent on two vulnerable butterfly species (the great sooty satyr Satyrus ferula and the marbled white Melanargia galathea ).

A form of the Carthusian pink, restricted to the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains in the Czech Republic, is recognised as being a distinct subspecies ( Dianthus carthusianorum subsp. sudeticus ), and was listed as threatened by the Council of Europe in 1993.

Uses

Carthusian pink is cultivated as an ornamental. 

Some forms of Carthusian pink can tolerate soils containing heavy metals, such as lead and zinc, and are therefore useful for re-vegetating polluted areas. 

Carthusian monks traditionally used the plant to treat muscle pain and rheumatism.

Millennium Seed Bank: Seed storage

The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership aims to save plant life worldwide, focusing on plants under threat and those of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in Kew's seed bank vault at Wakehurst.

Collections of  Dianthus carthusianorum  seeds are held in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank based at Wakehurst in West Sussex.

See Kew's Seed Information Database for further information on Dianthus carthusianorum seeds

Cultivation

Carthusian pink will do well in any well-drained soil in full sun. It is particularly suited to growing in sunny borders.

This species at Kew

Carthusian pink can be seen growing in the Rock Garden and the Queen's Garden (behind Kew Palace) at Kew.

Pressed and dried specimens of Dianthus carthusianorum are held in Kew's Herbarium, where they are available to researchers by appointment. The details of some of these specimens can be seen online in the Herbarium Catalogue.

Distribution

France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey

Ecology

Rocky slopes.

Conservation

Not considered to be threatened, but rare in parts of its range.

Hazards

None known.