Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)
Garden plant (Dianthus barbatus
) in the pink family
, grown for its clusters of small, brightly coloured flowers. It usually grows as a biennial, with seed sown the first year producing spring-flowering plants the second year. The plants grow about 2 ft (60 cm) high and produce numerous flowers with fringed petals in white, pink, or rose to violet, sometimes also bicoloured.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.