Fresh cut flowers Spray Carnation

Carnations were mentioned in Greek literature 2,000 years ago. "Dianthus" was coined by Greek botanist Theophrastus, and is derived from the Greek words for divine ("dios") and flower ("anthos"). Some scholars believe that the name "carnation" comes from "coronation" or "corone" (flower garlands), as it was one of the flowers used in Greek ceremonial crowns. Others think the name stems from the Latin "caro" (genitive "carnis") (flesh), which refers to the original colour of the flower, or incarnatio (incarnation), which refers to the incarnation of God made flesh.

Although originally applied to the species Dianthus caryophyllus, the name Carnation is also often applied to some of the other species of Dianthus, and more particularly to garden hybrids between D. caryophyllus and other species in the genus.

Carnation is the national flower of Spain, Monaco, and Slovenia, and the provincial flower of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The state flower of Ohio is a scarlet carnation, which was introduced to the state by Levi L. Lamborn. The choice was made to honour William McKinley, Ohio Governor and U.S. President, who was assassinated in 1901, and regularly wore a scarlet carnation on his lapel.

• White carnations are the official flower of the fraternities Lambda Theta Phi, Phi Delta Theta, Delta Chi, Delta Sigma Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, and Zeta Psi, as well as for the sororities Alpha Pi Chi, Chi Omega.
• Red carnations are originally the official flower of Theta Delta Chi.^[17] They are also the flower of Sigma Lambda Beta, Phi Iota Alpha, Phi Kappa Tau, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Theta Chi fraternities, the national professional chemistry fraternity Alpha Chi Sigma, the national honorary fraternity for college bandmembers Kappa Kappa Psi, and of the Eta Phi Beta, Lambda Phi Chi and Alpha Chi Omega sororities.
• Rose carnations are the official flower of the Phi Mu Fraternity.
• Pink carnations are the official flower of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, as they are the longest lasting flowers.
• Wine carnations are the official flower of the Pi Beta Phi Women's Fraternity.