Day 274: The Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria) came to the US so long ago that it has now naturalized throughout most of the country. It is also known as Grass Pink or Mountain Pink, and like most Dianthus species, it can cause mild skin irritation in susceptible individuals. It is tolerant of dry and nutrient-poor soils, a characteristic which has undoubtedly contributed to its success. Even so, it is not considered invasive, and is often included in wildflower mixes such as the one I tossed out into the Barren Wasteland many years ago. This gives rise to a question for which I have found no definitive answer: what criteria make a "native" species? And how can we hope to sort out those plants which have always been present in an area, and how many may have only been present for, say, the last 10,000 years? Tracking a genome back through time to its origin is a relatively new science, and not without pitfalls. Sports (spontaneous mutations from the parent species) occur in any genetic line, and who is to say that our "Deptford Pink" might not have sprung up independently from that known in England and Europe, or perhaps even begun to grow alongside the European introductions? Without sequencing each and every Pink, there is no way of knowing.
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