Dianthus barbatus Sweet-William

A very common and much loved, cottage garden plant which has been cultivated in Britain since the 16th Century. It is a short-lived perennial which grows in mats or clumps sending up shoots with clusters of relatively large, showy flowers that vary in colour from almost white to deep magenta pink. It occurs as casual, garden escape (or throw-out) populations that are occasional in waste places, roadside verges and on sand dunes and which may persist in some places for a few years. Most records are from lowland areas near the coast but an intersting population occurs along a forest track in Afan Forest Park near Abercregan where it has persisted for several years.

Neophyte