Fantasy Chrysanthemums - Spiders (part
2)
Characteristics
i) Hooked or Coil tip type
Blooms should be
'double', by this is meant that the central disc is not visible and florets protrude from this disc area. The U.S.A. Standard mentions 'the
disk must not be apparent', referring to the bloom being a double.
In the
bloom of a spider there may be two (2) types of florets.
(1) Initial or
skirt florets.
(2) Hooked or coiled florets.
(1) Initial or skirt
floret
The skirt florets are the first florets to develop in a bloom and are a
quill shape, by that I mean they are not hooked or coiled, but rather they
are enclosed and pointed at the tip. This is where the Japanese mention
'sword like' in shape as they appear elongated and straight with enclosed
tips. Now depending on the cultivar, skirt florets may or may not be
present. |
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(2) Hooked or coiled florets
Apart from the skirt florets all the
remainder of the florets are: hooked at the tip.
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| A hook consists of the
tip floret going into two parts forming a shape similar to touching your
finger tip to your thumb tip. This I have called the "finger and
thumb", or coiled at the tip, i.e. the floret at the tip coils back
on itself like a spring. Add large table of 'hooks' plus other figures
Types of hooks |
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Floret Diameter
In Japan spiders are divided into 4 subgroups
according to the thickness of the diameter of the tubular ray florets. The
ray florets being the mature florets. These 4 are set out below with their
corresponding tube diameters.
Thick 2.51 mm and over
Medium 1.71 -2.5mm
Thin 1.31-1.7mm
Fine (or Needle) 1.3 mm and under
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Thick
Senkvo Sasatake |
Medium
Shin Kyosui Kasumi |
Fine
Senkyo Fukakusa |
To make it easy to understand, imagine a spider with florets
made out of 1 mm aluminium wire then you would have an ideal fine (needle)
type spider. Then make another one using 1.5 mm aluminium wire and you
have an ideal thin type spider. If you understand it like that then you
would be on the right track.
Size of the Hook or Coil
In the thick and
medium types, the size of the hook or coil ideally is to 1.5 times the
thickness of the tubular floret. However, in the thin and fine types the
hook or coil should appear to be about the same size or a fraction larger
than the diameter of the tubular ray floret.
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Central Florets
These are the immature florets at the top
of the bloom. The shape of the central florets is important as it adds to
the overall balance of the bloom. These central unfurled young florets are
a lot shorter in length than the furled or ray florets. The ideal shape of
the central florets is either that of a small saucer or a whisk but with
the middle being depressed. In the case of the whisk type there is also a
hole in the centre. |
Saucer shaped Central Florets
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Whisk Shaped Central Florets
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Japanese Tea Whisk
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| Both whisk and saucer arrangements are equally
acceptable. The length of the florets ideally is about 1/5th the length of
the skirt florets or slightly shorter. If the central florets are too long
you lose balance and the umbrella shape |
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Whisk Centre ' Goshu Penta - |
Saucer Centre 'unknown cultivar' |
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Above view of whisk centre showing
deep depression or hole.
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All florets should be round along
the shaft in the medium, thin and fine types. Now in the 'thick tubular'
type the floret can be either round or angular along the shaft. By the
term 'angular' is meant that the floret shaft is like a square box tube. A
few examples are Senkyo Jonestsu and Kiyomi No Meikyoku.
In all types each
floret should not bulge or thin along its shaft but rather have an
evenness throughout the length of the shaft. |
| Thick type with
square shaped tube
Florets should be in layered fashion is also
mentioned. Here again we will use a diagram to illustrate.
The florets should not be grouped together, bent or crossing over each
other. There should be a gradual lengthening of florets from the top layer
to the bottom layer. The silhouette of the bloom is then rounded as in a
dome or opened umbrella.
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Fig. 5 |
In Australia the medium and thin
tubular types, these requiring rounded tubular florets, are the most
common. Some 'thick tubular' types are seen on the show bench and they may
have angled or rounded tubular florets, depending on the variety. Even in
Japan the 'fine tubular' type is rare at shows except at the All Japan
Chrysanthemum Championship Show. These are apparently bloomed in an
unusual way in that the bloom is turned to face down so that the florets
as they emerge and elongate are stretching towards the ground. The reason
for this, so I was told, was to keep the florets straight because each
floret is so fine it is inevitable that they would get damaged if bloomed
in the usual upright manner. |
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Each tubular thickness type of spider in
Japan is exhibited in a class of its own. A cultivar can be exhibited in
any class so long as it is typical for that class e.g. a 'thin' may be
shown in a 'medium' class as long as it meets the requirements of medium
tube thickness i.e. floret diameter 1.71 - 2.5 mm. |
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JUDGING CHECKS
(1) All florets are tubular
(2) All florets have a hook or coil on the end;
except for the skirt florets.
(3) All florets are about the same thickness.
(4) All florets are straight.
(5) Central florets are hooked or coiled and
they are a saucer or whisk in shape. Circular when viewed from above.
(6) The bloom takes an overall shape of an opened umbrella. Floret length
graduates from very long on the external florets to short in the inner
florets and the hooks or coils lay evenly.
Weak Points
(1) Central florets
(tuft) are too elongated, flattened out (old bloom) or disorderly.
(2) Central florets are either over long or short.
(3) The thickets of
florets is not constant.
(4) Florets are curved, crossing each other.
(5) The hook or coil is loose or too large.
(6) There is incomplete or no
graduation of floret length from top of bloom to bottom.
(7) Lack of hook
or coil on floret (except for skirt florets).
(8) Ring support is not a
true circle.
(9)Central florets tightly incurving into the centre.
(10) In
the hook the finger of the finger and thumb arrangement, is long and
sticks out. ii) SCOOP SHAPED TIPS
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T his type has round tubular florets
but instead of a coil or hooked tip, the tube .1 opens to a scoop shape,
i.e. the thumb is not present as in the 'finger and thumb' arrangement,
also the scoop tends to be more open thus showing the inside of the tube.
The bloom is also a double as is the hooked type. All other aspects are
the same as the hooked type. This variety is not so often seen; as a
matter of fact I can only think of one cultivar i.e. Dianne Stoakes. |
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