Dianthus pavonius

A species endemic to the Western Alps, it is certainly present in Liguria and Piedmont, including the Piedmontese side of the National Park. In the Aosta Valley, it is recorded at very few localised sites, including the Cogne Valley and the Rhemes Valley, but this can only be confirmed on the basis of historical herbarium specimens, and not on recent observations.

This small perennial plant forms dense clumps, with short, erect and glabrous stems, from which emerge flowers with pink, serrated petals and dark brown throats. The leaves are narrow, almost linear.

The peacock-eye pink, like other species in the Caryophyllaceae family, can be affected by a pathogenic fungus known as ‘anther blight’, which renders it sterile and uses it to reproduce.