Chrysanthemum morifolium

Chrysanthemum morifolium (also known as florist's daisy and hardy garden mum) is a species of perennial plant from Asteraceae family. In China, they have been around since 500 BC. Evidence. In 1630, more than 500 varieties were already mentioned there. In Europe, especially in Holland, they have been known since the mid-17th century, but their general dissemination took place only in the 19th century. Chrysanthemum was first appreciated in China as a medicinal plant. It is classified in the oldest Chinese medical material, Shennong Bencao Jing (early modern era), in the category of superior drugs and is part of the products related to the search for immortality. 'In prolonged use, it lifts the inhibition of blood and qi, alleviates the body, slows down ageing, and prolongs life' says the classic. 'Lightening the body' was a goal to reach the ethereal state of Immortals able to fly and 'ride the clouds'. From Jin and Tang dynasties (the 5th century so), chrysanthemum began to be appreciated as an ornamental plant, while continuing to be used for dietary reasons. The first monograph on chrysanthemums was published in 1104 AD. The author, Liu Mengquan 泉 蒙 泉 classifies the chrysanthemums according to their colors: the normal ones are yellow, then come the whites, the purples and finally the reds. It lists a total of 35 cultivated varieties that could be observed in the gardens near the Buddhist shrines of Longmen Grottoes. In the 1th century, the famous physician and herbalist Li Shizhen 李时珍 in his Great Treaty of Medical Matter, reports a hundred cultivars. He attributes to them some medicinal properties such as 'eliminating heat and toxins', 'improving visual acuity' and so on. In 1630, a survey of over 500 cultivars 17 and about 2000 at the beginning of 20th century. The first European author to mention chrysanthemum is Jacobus Breynius (Jacob Breyn) in 1689 in his Prodromus Plantarum Rariorum. This merchant and botanist Danzig describes as the Matricaria japonica maxima, as a very elegant flowering plant, double, pink or light red 20 and existing in several varieties. The first botanical description of the florists' chrysanthemum goes to Thomas d'Audibert de Ramatuelle. In 1792, in the Journal of Natural History, this botanist describes the cultivated plant, with big purpurine flowers, brought back from China by the navigator Marseillais Blancard, under the names of 'Camomile with large flowers', Anthemis grandiflora. He insists on distinguishing it from the Chrysanthemum indicum of Linnaeus with small yellow heads. He proposes in a note to call it also Chrysanthemum morifolium. From this first cultivated plant brought back from China in 1789 by Blancard, then from those brought back (from China in 1846 and Japan in 1863) will be created in Europe thousands of cultivars and hybrids. Joined thousands of cultivars developed independently in China and Japan, there is currently a huge complex cultivars (estimated from 20,000 to 30,000). Author Wilhelm Miller writes, 'The common chrysanthemums of the florists ( C. hortorum ) are often called 'large-flowering' and 'autumn chrysanthemums,' to distinguish them from the hardy outdoor species. They are the blended product of C. indicum and C. morifolium, two species of plants that grow wild in China and Japan. The outdoor or hardy chrysanthemums are derived from the same species, being less developed forms. The florist's chrysanthemum is not necessarily a glasshouse subject.' The more than 1,000 varieties that have existed in Europe since the 19th century are divided into numerous varieties. The indicum hybrids as the oldest group have the chrysanthemum chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum indicum) as the parent. The plant is 30–90 centimetres (12–35 in) high and wide, which grows as a perennial herbaceous or slightly woody plant on the ground. The stems stand upright. The leaves are broad ovate in outline and wedge-shaped in the petiole, the length of the leaves is more than 6 inches. The lower leaves are plumed, further up the stems they are increasingly entire. Deciduous leaves appear in the spring. They are alternate, lobed pinnatifid and toothed. They are up to 12cm long, fleshy and covered with gray hairs. They exhale a strong smell when they are wrinkled.