Culpeper: says of the flowers: ‘Clove-gilliflowers, resist the pestilence, strengthen the heart, liver and stomach, and provokes lust.’

Culpeper (1649): “... Clove-gilliflowers resist the pestilence, strengthen the heart, liver and stomach, and provokes lust.” He also called it Betonica coronaria. Notes: Pestilence was the bubonic plague, that was prevalent in London (and Europe generally) at that time. A bunch of carnations may still, at least, encourage affection (if not lust), but most hospitals now dislike flowers in their wards, whether affected by plague or not.

Clove gilliflowers

They smell strongly of cloves, and an oil made from the petals is used in perfumery, soaps etc. The petals are sometimes used as a garnish for salads. In herbal medicine they are used to make a tonic.

Dianthus caryophyllus L. Caryophyllaceae Carnation, clove-gilliflowers - Mediterranean Culpeper (1650) writes that ‘Clove-gilliflowers, resist the pestilence, strengthen the heart, liver and stomach, and provokes lust.’ They smell strongly of cloves, and an oil made from the petals is used in perfumery, soaps etc. The petals are sometimes used as a garnish for salads. In herbal medicine they are used to make a tonic.