Dianthus.
Dianthus. Dianthus Caryophyllus L. Clove Pink. (Fam. Caryophyllaceae.)—Of the ordinary garden pink those specimens should be selected for medicinal use which have the deepest red color and the most aromatic odor. The petals should not be collected until the flower is fully blown, and should be employed in the recent state. They have a fragrant odor, said to resemble that of the clove. Their taste is sweetish, slightly bitter, and somewhat astringent. Both water and alcohol extract their sensible properties, and they yield a fragrant essential oil by distillation. In Europe they are employed to impart color and flavor to a syrup, used as a vehicle. The Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia directed this to be made by macerating one part of the flowers, without their claws, in four parts of boiling water for twelve hours, then filtering, and adding seven parts of sugar.
