Deptford Pink in Bloom

These Deptford Pink flowers were in bloom last spring.

You might think "These are pink flowers; they were named appropriately", but there is some controversy about their name. They get their name from a 17th century British naturalist who saw pink flowers in Deptford, which is in part of London. But these days it's believed that the flower we call the Deptford Pink did not exist in London at that time. Either he was seeing an actual Deptford Pink that was out of range [1], or (as many people theorize) he was seeing a related wildflower, the Maiden Pink. This is how the Deptford Pink got named after a place where it didn't exist.

Based on the London naming, you've probably guessed that this isn't a native wildflower but is at least naturalized and arguably invasive. Depending on who you talk to, some consider any introduced plant/animal to be invasive while others will call the less aggressive introduced species "naturalized". Ultimately these wildflowers don't technically belong here, but they generally don't take over an ecosystem the way many introduced species do. If you want to refer to them with the kinder "naturalized" moniker, I won't argue with you.

A little like European Starlings, these wildflowers may be doing better in their adopted homelands than they are in their original homes.

June 13, 2023 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 300986802, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] I'm not sure how far out of range a Deptford Pink would have been in 17th century London.

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