Chrysanthemum

Flower head of a Chrysanthemum species

Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are perennial flowering plants of the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae which are native to Asia and northeastern Europe. About 30 species have been described. Florists sometimes abbreviate the spelling to "xants".

Etymology

The name "chrysanthemum" is derived from the Greek words, chrysos (gold) and anthemon (flower).

Taxonomy

The genus once included more species, but was split several decades ago into several genera, putting the economically important florist's chrysanthemum in the genus Dendranthema. The naming of the genera has been contentious, but a ruling of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature in 1999 changed the defining species of the genus to Chrysanthemum indicum, restoring the florist's chrysanthemum to the genus Chrysanthemum.
The other species previously included in the narrow view of the genus Chrysanthemum are now transferred to the genus Glebionis. The other genera separate from Chrysanthemum include Argyranthemum, Leucanthemopsis, Leucanthemum, Rhodanthemum, and Tanacetum.
Chrysanthemum species are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 50–150 cm tall, with deeply lobed leaves with large flower heads that are generally white, yellow or pink in the wild. They are the preferred diet of larvae of certain lepidopterans.

History

Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a flowering herb as far back as the 15th century BC. 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. The flower may have been brought to Japan in the eighth century AD, and the Emperor adopted the flower as his official seal. The "Festival of Happiness" in Japan celebrates the flower.
The flower was brought to Europe in the 17th century. Linnaeus named it from the Greek word χρυσός chrysous, "golden" (the colour of the original flowers), and ἄνθεμον -anthemon, meaning flower.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysanthemum