THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Carnation

Lisa Karen Miller

          When Mary saw Jesus carrying the cross, she began to cry, and where her tears fell, carnations sprouted.  Because of this charming legend, the pink carnation became a symbol of a mother’s love, and in 1907 was chosen as the emblem for Mother’s Day.

          A purple carnation, on the other hand, says “Antipathy and Capriciousness.” Red signals “Admiration and Worldly Sentiments;” it was also put by the bedside of the sick to promote strength and energy. Yellow conveys “Disdain and Rejection.” White, a good luck gift to a woman, says “Pure and Ardent Love.”

A nosegay made of carnation, rosemary, and geranium says “Love, Fidelity, and Hope.”

          Native to the Near East, and in cultivation for over 2,000 years, the earliest mention of Dianthus, Pinks, or Carnations, came from plague-stricken Crusaders near Tunis, who drank wine mixed with its leaves to control fever. They took the flowers back to France, where they were called “Tunica.”

          Called the “woman’s flower” and “Jove’s flower,” it was also known as the “flower of flowers” in ancient Greece. The genus name means “divine flower.” The original flowers were skin-colored (Caucasian skin, that is), so they were named from the Latin word “carnis”, meaning “flesh.”

          A very early name for Dianthus carophyllum was a mispronunciation: gilliflower. It was also called the “clove pink,” as it could be substituted for that more expensive and exotic Indian spice.

          All members of the genus are called “Pinks,” including the florist’s carnation. This name comes from “pinct” which means “pinked” (as in pinking shears) or “scalloped.”

          Elizabethans thought that he who wore carnations would never die on the scaffold; to this belief is attributed the custom of wearing the flower as a buttonhole. Beatrix Potter even gives Benjamin Bunny a carnation boutonniere.

          If a young woman of marriageable age wore one, all other suitors resigned in defeat. The flower of divinity and symbol of betrothal was often woven into wedding garlands.

          Geoffrey Chaucer used them for his “sops in wine,” and it is still enjoyed as a nerve tonic today.  Pinks can flavor wine, vinegar, syrup, or liqueur. The edible petals can be used in salads, soups, or sauces. Crystallized petals were used decoratively, and were believed to give unlimited energy.

          The flower was even useful to British sheep farmers; this rhyme reminded them of shearing time:

“When white pinks begin to peer,

Then’s the time your sheep to shear.”                   

Give mom some love next Mother’s Day.  And keep some for yourself.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller