Taxonomy

History

Cultural Management

• Methods of propagation- Seeds, cuttings, division, grafting and tissue culture
• Soil– The preferred soil types are clay loam or sandy loam with good drainage. A pH of 6.0 - 6.5 is recommended.
• Temperature - The best temperature is about 68-82/59-68°F (day/night) for plant growth. The flower characteristics are affected by temperature during different growth stage. (S. M. P. Carvalho, H. Abi-Tarabay and E. Heuvelink, 2005)
• Light – Chrysanthemum is a qualitative short day plant, which requires long nights to induce flowering and also means requiring the day-length to be shorter than a critical day-length. Naturally in winter (the day-length is shorter) the flowers starts to initiate, but they could be interfered by stray lights. Artificially pulling black sheet to cover over the plants (short-day or dark treatment) for 12-15 hour per day until flower color is showing. The temperature could modify the photoperiodic response; the optimal temperature during flowering is between 63-72°F(A. VAN DER PLOEG and E. HEUVELINK, 2006.), however, high night temperature in excess of 85°F delays flowering (called heat delay) and no lower than 63°F. On the other hand, keeping plants in a long-day condition is to prevent flowering until a certain date and maintain vegetative growth. Naturally it happens in late spring and summer (the day-length is longer) or artificially light can be applied to interrupt the long-night effect.
• Water – Chrysanthemums don’t need too much water, but its requirement increases as vegetative growth progresses. However, water requirement should be reduced during the flower initiation stage.
• Fertilizer – A high nitrogen and potassium fertilizer is needed during the vegetative growth to increase flower size and numbers.
• Pinching and disbudding – The removal of the terminal portion of the stem tip (pinching) is to induce branching which increases the numbers of flowering stems. Disbudding is to remove unwanted or immature flower buds; removing the terminal bud is to create a spray floral type, however, removing the lateral buds is to create a standard type (1 flower per stem).
• Pest – Common pests and disease can be control by chemical, biological and cultural methods(recommendation based on UC IPM Program). Mum production scheduling There are four important stages for scheduling; planting date, pinch date, flower bud initiation date (FBI), and flowering date. Before FBI date, the plants should be put in a long-day condition to keep vegetative growth. From flower bud initiation to flowering, mums should be kept in a short-day condition. The weeks of growth needed between each stage vary depending on variety, time of year and production demands. Generally, from planting to pinch date, it needs 0-3 weeks (no pinch for single-stem type; the period of planting in Apr-Aug is shorter than planting in Sep-Mar.). From pinch to FBI date, it needs 0-1 weeks for potted mums and 3-5 weeks for cut mums depending on the requirement of final plant height. From FBI to flowering date, it ranges from 7-15 weeks depending on different varieties. Scheduling always starts to determine the flowering date, and then count backwards to find FBI, pinch and planting dates.

  Economic uses

  Ornamental uses

  [[Image:Chrysanthemum Bunch Closeup 3264px.jpg|thumb|A closeup of the flowers]
     Modern chrysanthemums are much more showy than their wild relatives. The flowers occur in various forms, and can be daisy-like, decorative, pompons or buttons. This genus contains many hybrids and thousands of cultivars developed for horticultural purposes. In addition to the traditional yellow, other colours are available, such as white, purple, and red. The most important hybrid is Chrysanthemum × morifolium (syn. C. × grandiflorum), derived primarily from C. indicum but also involving other species.
     Chrysanthemums are broken into two basic groups, Garden Hardy and Exhibition. Garden hardy mums are perennials capable of being wintered over in the ground in most northern latitudes. Exhibition varieties are not usually as sturdy. Garden hardies are defined by their ability to produce an abundance of small blooms with little if any mechanical assistance (ie. staking) and withstanding wind and rain. Exhibition varieties on the other hand require staking, over-wintering in a relatively dry cool environment, sometimes with the addition of night lights.
     The Exhibition varieties can be used to create many amazing plant forms; Large disbudded blooms, spray forms, as well as many artistically trained forms, such as: Thousand Bloom, Standard (trees), Fans, Hanging Baskets, Topiary, Bonsai, and Cascades. Chrysanthemum blooms are divided into 13 different bloom forms by the US National Chrysanthemum Society, Inc., which is in keeping with the international classification system. The bloom forms are defined by the way in which the ray and disk florets are arranged.
     Chrysanthemum blooms are composed of many individual flowers (florets), each one capable of producing a seed. The disk florets are in the center of the bloom head, and the ray florets are on the perimeter. The ray florets are considered imperfect flowers, as they only possess the female productive organs, while the disk florets are considered perfect flowers as they possess both male and female reproductive organs. Irregular Incurve: These are the giants of the chrysanthemum world. Quite often disbudded to create a single giant bloom (ogiku), the disk florets are completely concealed, while the ray florets curve inwardly to conceal the disk and also hang down to create a 'skirt'. Also called, 'japs'. Reflex: The disk florets are concealed and the ray florets reflex outwards to create a mop like appearance. Regular Incurve: Similar to the irregular incurves, only usually smaller blooms, with nearly perfect globular form. Disk florets are completely concealed. They used to be called 'Chinese'. Decorative: Similar to reflex blooms without the mop like appearance. Disk florets are completely concealed, ray florets usually don't radiate at more than a 90 degree angle to the stem. Intermediate Incurve: These blooms are in-between the Irregular and Regular incurves in both size and form. They usually have broader florets and a more loosely composed bloom. Again, the disk florets are completely concealed. Pompon: *Note the spelling, it isn't pompom. The blooms are fully double, of small size, and almost completely globular in form. Single/Semi-Double: These blooms have completely exposed disk florets, with between 1 and 7 rows of ray florets, usually radiating at not more than a 90 degree angle to the stem. Anemone: The disk florets are prominently featured, quite often raised and overshadowing the ray florets. Spoon: The disk florets are visible, and the ray florets are spatulate. Quill: The disk florets are completely concealed, and the ray florets are tube like. Spider: The disk florets are completely concealed, and the ray florets are tube liked with hooked or barbed ends, hanging loosely around the stem. Brush & Thistle: The disk florets may be visible. The ray florets are often tube like, and project all around the flower head, or project parallel to the stem. Exotic: These blooms defy classification as they possess the attributes of more than one of the other twelve bloom types.
     Chrysanthemum leaves resemble its close cousin, the mugwort weed — so much so that mugwort is sometimes called wild chrysanthemum — making them not always the first choice for professional gardeners.

  Culinary uses

  Yellow or white chrysanthemum flowers are boiled to make a sweet drink in some parts of Asia. The resulting beverage is known simply as "chrysanthemum tea" (pinyin: júhuā chá, in Chinese). Chrysanthemum tea has many medicinal uses, including an aid in recovery from influenza. In Korea, a rice wine flavored with chrysanthemum flowers is called gukhwaju (국화주).^{photo 1photo 2}

  Insecticidal uses

  Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum [orTanacetum] cinerariaefolium) is economically important as a natural source of insecticide. The flowers are pulverized, and the active components called pyrethrins, contained in the seed cases, are extracted and sold in the form of an oleoresin. This is applied as a suspension in water or oil, or as a powder. Pyrethrins attack the nervous systems of all insects, and inhibit female mosquitoes from biting. When not present in amounts fatal to insects, they still appear to have an insect repellent effect. They are harmful to fish, but are far less toxic to mammals and birds than many synthetic insecticides and are non-persistent, being biodegradable and also breaking down easily on exposure to light. They are considered to be amongst the safest insecticides for use around food. (Pyrethroids are synthetic insecticides based on natural pyrethrum, for example, permethrin.)

  Environmental uses

  Chrysanthemum plants have been shown to reduce indoor air pollution by the NASA Clean Air Study.

  Cultural significance and symbolism

  In some countries of Europe (for example, France, Poland, Croatia), in Korea and in Japan, white chrysanthemums are symbolic of death and are only used for funerals or on graves. In China, white chrysanthemums are symbolic of lamentation, while in some other countries, of honesty. In the United States, the flower is usually regarded as positive and cheerful.
• The Chrysanthemum Throne (Japanese: 菊花紋章, kikukamonshō or kikkamonshō) is the name given to the position of Japanese emperor. The chrysanthemum (菊 kiku in Japanese) is the monshō ("badge" or "crest") of the emperor of Japan, and therefore the flower represents the emperor and Imperial House. The term kikukamonshō literally means the "Chrysanthemum Crest" (Imperial Seal).
• In Japan the chrysanthemum is also considered a symbol of homosexuality, as the tightly gathered petals are supposed to represent the male anus.
• The Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum: a Japanese honor awarded by the emperor.
• The chrysanthemum is one of the "Four Junzi Flowers" of China (the others being ume, orchid, and bamboo), known in Chinese as jú . The jú is said to have been favored by Tao Qian, an influential Chinese poet, and is symbolic of nobleness.
• The chrysanthemum is the flower of the American musician fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
• The white chrysanthemum is the flower of Triangle Fraternity, a society of engineers, architects, and scientists.
• Chrysanthemums were recognized as the official flower of the city of Chicago in 1961.
• The term "chrysanthemum" is also used to refer to a certain type of firework shell that produces a pattern of trailing sparks similar to a chrysanthemum flower.
• The chrysanthemum is also the flower of November.
• A Chrysanthemum Festival is held each year in Tongxiang, near Hangzhou, China.
• The "golden flower" referred to in the 2007 movie Curse of the Golden Flower is a chrysanthemum.
• Chrysanthemums are common visual hallucinations induced by the psychoactive Dimethyltryptamine.
• The city of Nihonmatsu, Japan hosts the "Nihonmatsu Chrysanthemum Dolls Exhibition" every autumn in historical ruin of Kasumigajo castle.

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