Yellow Chrysanthemum - Slighted Love
White Chrysanthemum - Truth
And worship her by years of noble deeds,
Until they won her; for indeed I knew
Of no more subtle master under heaven
Than is the maiden passion for a maid,
Not only to keep down the base in man,
But teach high thought, and amiable words
And courtliness, and the desire of fame,
And love of truth, and all that makes a man.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1809-1892
The Chrysanthemum must feel a poor immigrant in the West where it is welcomed only in the autumn because of the scarcity of other flowers.
Grown in the Far East for over thousands of years, it is so admired in Japan that the Emperor sits on the Chrysanthemum throne.
The name comes form the Greek words "chrysos"' meaning gold, and "anthemum"' a flower, for the species grown was a yellow one. Today their colors include all shades of yellow, pink, and red.
Grown for cutting and arranging indoors, it always seems a miracle of nature taht such a thin stem can support such a heavy round head.
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