Chrysanthemum is a beautiful flower with a really nice smell and an interesting story dating many years back in time.
Let’s find out more about it!
- Chrysanthemums sometimes is called mumingtons or chrysanths.
- They are flowering plants of the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae.
- They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe.
- Most species originate from East Asia and the center of diversity is in China.
- Countless horticultural varieties and cultivars exist.
- The name “chrysanthemum” is derived from the Ancient Greek and more specifically chrysos (gold) and Ancient Greek anthemon (flower).
- The genus once included more species, but was split several decades ago into several genera.
- In this way it was putting the economically important florist’s chrysanthemums in the genus Dendranthema.
- The naming of these genera has been contentious.
- A ruling of the International Botanical Congress in 1999 changed the defining species of the genus to Chrysanthemum indicum, restoring the florist’s chrysanthemums to the genus Chrysanthemum.
- Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a flowering herb as far back as the 15th century BC.
- Over 500 cultivars had been recorded by 1630.
- By 2014 it was estimated that there were over 20,000 cultivars in the world and about 7,000 cultivars in China.
- The plant is renowned as one of the Four Gentlemen in Chinese and East Asian Art.
- The plant is particularly significant during the Double Ninth Festival.
- It’s also one of the four noble plants in Chinese culture, along with plum blossoms, orchids, and bamboo.
- All four plants are widely used in ancient paintings and poems, and are thought to represent the four seasons, and also human virtues.
- Depending on where you are in the world, mums’ symbolism can be completely different.
- In some parts of the world, including most parts of the United States, chrysanthemums are associated with joy and optimism.
- Chrysanthemums are hugely symbolic in Japan (the flower has been used as the crest of the emperor for over 1,200 years), and they celebrate a National Chrysanthemum Day every year on September 9 that’s also known as the festival of happiness.
- However, in many European countries, including France, Belgium, and Spain, chrysanthemums are associated with death and are often given at funerals or placed on graves to honor the dead.
- Chrysanthemum tea is a popular drink brewed with the flowers from the plant.
- It’s especially popular in China, and is made with the dried flower heads.
- However, the leaves are also edible, and can be added to salads or cooked like other greens.
- You might’ve heard before that chrysanthemums can repel pesky insects such as mosquitoes.
- Unfortunately, just planting a couple of mums won’t free you of mosquitoes, but oil extracted from the flowers of certain chrysanthemum species has been used in insecticides for centuries.
- There are 40 wild species of chrysanthemum and thousands of varieties created via selective breeding.
- Stem can reach 5 to 15 centimeters (2 to 6 inches) in height.
- Flower can have 1 to 25 centimeters (0.4 to 10 inches) in diameter.
- The compound inflorescence is an array of several flower heads, or sometimes a solitary head.
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