Dianthus superbus

Dianthus superbus, the fringed pink or large pink, is a species of Dianthus native to Europe and northern Asia, from France north to arctic Norway, and east to Japan; in the south of its range, it occurs at high altitudes, up to 2,400 m.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall. The leaves are green to greyish green, slender, up to 8 cm long. The flowers are sweetly scented, 3–5 cm in diameter, with five deeply cut fringed petals, pink to lavender with a greenish base; they are produced in branched clusters at the top of the stems from early to late summer.

There are six subspecies:

• Dianthus superbus subsp. superbus. Most of the species' range.
• Dianthus superbus subsp. autumnalis Oberd. Southwestern France.
• Dianthus superbus subsp. sylvestris Čelak. Germany.
• Dianthus superbus subsp. alpestris Kablík. ex Čelak. (syn. D. s. subsp. speciosus). Alps, Carpathians, at high altitudes. Shorter stems; leaves greyer; flowers large.
• Dianthus superbus subsp. stenocalyx (Trautv. ex Juz.) Kleopow. Southern Russia, Ukraine.
• Dianthus superbus subsp. longicalycinus (Maxim.) Kitam. Japan. Also called nadeshiko (ナデシコ).

It is the only food source of the large moth Coleophora musculella.