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Annual of the Caryophyllaceae family, once an inevitable companion of cereal harvests throughout Europe, now extremely rare in fields due to seed purification and the use of herbicides, and now mainly found in gardens where it is deliberately cultivated.
It rises to 60-90 cm on slender, upright, hairy stems bearing opposite linear leaves, and ends with large solitary flowers, purplish-pink veined with dark lines, 3 to 5 cm in diameter, with slightly notched petals, framed by long linear sepals clearly exceeding the corolla.
It is sown in place in autumn or spring, tolerates poor and well-drained soils, and easily reseeds itself from year to year.
A light and rustic presence, typical of natural or cottage-style gardens.