Glossary of Terms

BLEND

Two or more colors which gradually merge but are distinguishable from a distance of six feet.

CENTRAL RAYS

The short immature ray florets comprising the central portion of the fully double flowers when at their prime stage.

DISC

A more or less flat, circular group of tubular florets fully visible in open-centered type Dahlias.

DISC FLORETS

Small tubular florets which make up the central part of the flower head, each with a pistil and stamens but generally no other conspicuous flower parts.

DWARF

Dahlia varieties which normally do not produce plant growth over 24 inches in height.

FLORET

One of the small flowers which collectively comprise the flower head.

FULLY DOUBLE

Flower heads with multiple rows of ray florets; the disc florets are immature and completely covered by the central rays when the flower is at its prime stage.

INCURVED

The ray florets curve forward along their length toward the face of the flower head.

INVOLUTE

Margins of the ray florets roll forward along their longitudinal axis. When fully involute the margins touch or overlap so only the revers of the floret is visible.

LACINIATED

The split or fimbriation should be in proportion to ray floret length, and be no less than 1/6 of ray floret length, there should be a twisting in the area of the split involute or revolute ray florets, to give an overall fringed effect.

MARGIN

The edge of the ray floret and the area adjacent.

MARGINAL RAYS

Fully developed ray florets which establish and determine the maximum diameter of a flower, as distinguished from the immature central rays.

PETAL

The common name for the conspicuously colored part of a floret.

PETALOIDS

Additonal floral parts on ray florets having the form and appearance of smaller petals. Most noticable in the Collarette Dahlias.

RAY FLORET

One of the broad, conspicuously colored florets, the structure of which suggests a single petal of an ordinary flower. These form the radiating border in the open-centered type dahlias, or massed together, the flower head in fully double types.

RECURVED

The ray florets curve backward along their length toward the stem.

REVOLUTE

Margins of the ray floret roll backward allong their longitudinal axis. When fully revolute, the margins touch or overlap.

STRAIGHT

The ray florets have little or no curvature throughout their length.

UNDISSEMINATED

A Dahlia will be considered disseminated when it is offered for sale by the originator and/or introducer through catalog, advertisement, and/or any other means. A Dahlia will also be considered disseminated when the originator distributes roots or cuttings of an undisseminated cultivar to growers without the stipulation of growing for seedling becnh competition and they are entered, named, in show competion.

A Dahlia will also be considered disseminated the next year following entry/placement in any ADS Trial Garden or ADS Bench Evaluation when those trial garden/bench scores are published in the ADS Bulletin.

Example: A seedling is entered in a trial garden or seedling bench evaluation and scores 86.2. The inforamtion is publsihed in the December 1995 issue of the ADS Bulletin. This cultivar will be considered disseminated in 1996. Exception: A cultivar may be entered the following year into additional trial gardens or bench evaluatons. If not released, the December 1995 issue of the ADS Bulletin MUST state "not for release in 1996". In this case, the cultivar will be considered disseminated in 1997.

An originator may send roots/cuttings of a seedling to ADS Accredited or Senior Judges for the primary purpose of growing for entry into ADS Seedling Bench Evaluation and still be considered undisseminated. Any information published in the ADS Bulletin from any of the growers will be considred the same as a score.

If the originator wishes awards to be shown in the next year's C&H Book, the cultivar should be entered by name. If it is entered by alpha/numberic designation, the awards will NOT be printed. Thus a new (named) cultivar will be listed: a. If it is reported as scoring 85 or more in Trial Garden or Seeding Bench evaluation, or b. If it is reported as winning two or more blue ribbons in open competition.

Foreign cultivars may be entered in either ADS Bench Evaluation or Trial Garden and be eligible for one of the awards as long as the cultivar is not commercially available in the United States or Canada.

Copyright © 1995 - 2008 Andrew G. Miller