Like the common garden mum, spider mums trace their origins back to hybrids of Chrysanthemum indicum, first developed in China over 2000 years ago. Throughout the centuries, these so-called “florist’s chrysanthemums,” have diverged into a vast array of shapes, sizes, and colors. [3]

The mum was discovered in writings as early as the 15th century B.C. Pottery crafted during this time actually shows many varieties of mums, looking much like we know them to look today! 

The ancient Chinese name for chrysanthemum is “Chu.” The Chinese city of Chu-Hsien—which means Chrysanthemum City— was named in honor of the great chrysanthemum. 

Around the 8th century, the chrysanthemum began putting down roots in Japan. The Japanese were so enamored with the bloom that they adopted it as the crest and official seal of the Emperor. Japan also has a National Chrysanthemum Day called the Festival of Happiness. As if our beloved mums couldn’t get any better! 

The chrysanthemum was first introduced to the Western world during the 17th century. In 1753, Karl Linnaeus, a renowned Swedish botanist, combined the Greek words chrysos, meaning gold, with anthemon, meaning flower—and there you have it! Linnaeus was the founder of the branch of taxonomy dealing with plants and including the science of classification and identification. Experts say this is probably an accurate description of the ancient species, as it also points out the mum’s need for sunlight! [6]