Maiden pink
1 June 2010
This striking perennial has delicately fringed pink flowers, similar to those of a carnation, with a dark basal stripe and delicate pale spots. The narrow, pointed leaves are greyish with hairy edges. It thrives in thin, drought-prone soils in sandy grasslands, heaths and basic rock- outcrops such as dolerite. It also occasionally occurs on mining spoils contaminated by metals where competition from other plants is low.
Maiden pink (c) Peter Wakely
Latin name: Dianthus deltoides
Population numbers:
Maiden pink has experienced a severe decline in recent decades and is now classified as a Nationally Scarce species. The number of 10km squares from which it has been recorded in Britain is thought to have fallen from 273 before 1990 to approximately 56 since then, excluding garden escapes and intentional introductions. Most surviving populations are now highly localised and dependent on sympathetic management. The main threats today appear to be overgrazing, nutrient enrichment, which favours commoner more competitive species, and under-grazing, leading to development of tall grassland and scrub.
Where to see and when:
Maiden pink flowers from June to August. In England it is widely scattered but it reaches its south-west limit in Somerset. Important areas for the plant include drought-prone grasslands on igneous rock outcrops of the Great Whin Sill and on the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland, the ‘lead rakes‘ of the Derbyshire Dales, formed by centuries of mining the mineral veins in areas such as Lathkill Dale NNR and the open sandy conditions of the Brecklands of East Anglia where it is best seen on Weeting Heath NNR and at West Stow Country Park within the Thetford Forest SSSI.
What’s being done:
Natural England has awarded the Northumberland Wildlife Trust a £111,550 grant from the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ASLF). This will enable the Wildlife Trust to manage and restore a number of very rare whin grassland sites around Northumberland by clearing scrub from a number of important sites and assisting with the establishment of conservation grazing by sheep or goats.
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