Dianthus superbus
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| Dianthus superbus L. |
Dianthus superbus is a sweet-scented flower known by several common names, including fringed pink, lilac pink, and large pink. It is a popular garden flower and several cultivars and hybrids exist. The small flower may be white or a shade of red or purple, but it usually has a characteristic green center. Unhybridized D. superbus has tufts of fringed lavender petals. The gray-green grasslike leaves form a mat at the base of each plant, and the flowers grow atop long stems.
It is usually perennial in even the coldest climates. It thrives in ordinary to rich soil and likes full sun to partial shade in hot climates. It is self-sowing and can be propagated by seed, by division of the roots, layering of the stems or cuttings from growing shoots.
D. superbus is an edible plant. The flowers contain sweet nectar, and the foliage can be eaten or boiled to make a drink. The plant contains toxic saponins, but not enough to be harmful. It has historically been used in Chinese herbology as a contraceptive, diuretic, and anti-infective; its Chinese name is qu mai.
D. superbus is the only food source of the large moth Coleophora musculella.
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