Petrorhagia
Encyclopedia
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
and perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
s of the pink or carnation family
Caryophyllaceae
The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae and Polygonaceae...
, mostly native to the Mediterranean region. The genus is often referred to as Tunica, which is an obsolete synonym. It is low-growing with wiry stems and narrow, grass-like leaves. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are small, in clusters similar to members of the genus Dianthus
Dianthus
Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species in arctic North America. Common names include carnation , pink and sweet William Dianthus is a genus of...
, in pink
Pink
Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....
, lilac
Lilac
Syringa is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family , native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere....
, or white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
. Petrorhagia saxifraga is the tunic flower or coat flower, similar to Baby's Breath, but shorter, and used in rock gardens.
These plants are mainly native to Eurasia, but some species can be found nearly worldwide, having been introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to other continents.
Species include
- Petrorhagia dubiaPetrorhagia dubiaPetrorhagia dubia is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common name hairy pink. It is native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, but it is known on other continents, including Australia and North and South America, as an introduced species and sometimes a weed...
syn. Petrorhagia velutina - Hairy Pink - Petrorhagia nanteuilii - Childing Pink
- Petrorhagia prolifera - Proliferous Pink
- Petrorhagia saxifraga - Tunic-flower
- Petrorhagia velutina - Hairy Pink