A few months ago Aris Zografidis (Bolanthus on the Forum) gave Sparoza a bunch of seeds he had collected traveling in Greece. Most of these were sown direct and lost... The most precious seeds were those of Dianthus diffusus. These I sowed into pots and have come a long way since! I have given two plants away and of the 7 that remain in our custody at the nursery at Sparoza, only one has flowered this season. It is so lovely that I can forgive the rest for waiting until next year!
The leaves have an interesting crimp and curl about them and the long slender flowerstem had 4 flowers. The first (top flower) opened a week ago and has not yet dried up; the other three have opened in succession since. Their petals fold up at night showing the lovely green undersides.
I am so pleased about having grown this rare little beauty, endemic to SC Greece, Evia, the Peloponnese and the Cyclades. If they survive the summer in the nursery I will plant some of them out in potentially favourable spots at Sparoza and hopefully be able to provide the MGS seedbank with seeds of it!
I include here some photographs of the creature. Can anybody verify its identity?