Description
Sweet William is a herb biennial or short-lived perennial plant native to the mountains of southern Europe from the Pyrenees east to the Carpathians and the Balkans, with a variety disjunct in northeastern China, Korea, and southeasternmost Russia. It grows to 30–75 cm tall, with green to glaucous blue-green tapered leaves 4–10 cm long and 1–2 cm broad. The flowers are produced in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems and have a spicy, clove-like scent; each flower is 2–3 cm diameter with five petals with serrated edges; in wild plants the petals are red with a white base.
There are two varieties:
- Dianthus barbatus var. barbatus. Southern Europe. Leaves broader, up to 2 cm broad.
- Dianthus barbatus var. asiaticus Nakai. Northeastern Asia. Leaves slenderer, not over 1 cm broad.
Read more about this topic: Dianthus Barbatus
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