THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



especially where nature has been interfered with by man, the 

 lines of separation are not always hard and fast, and it some- 

 times happens that a single variety may be found under two and 

 sometimes even three different headings in catalogues of differ- 

 ent dealers. The names of the principal classes and their ap- 

 plications as recently defined by the American Dahlia Society 

 are, when somewhat abbreviated and slightly modified, as 

 follows : 



Single. — Open-centered flowers, with 8-12 floral rays, more or 

 less in one circle. 



Duplex. — Semi-double flowers ; rays more than 12, in more 

 than one circle, long and flat or broad and rounded, not notice- 

 ably twisted or curled. Many dahlias previously classed as 

 paeony-flowered belong here. 



Paeony-floivered. — Semi-double flowers with open center, the 

 inner floral rays being usually curled or twisted, the outer rays 

 either flat or more or less irregular. 



Collarette. — Of the single type, with not more than 9 large 

 floral rays ; but with a circle of smaller, narrower, often differ- 

 ently colored, rays standing at the base or in front of the larger 

 rays and forming a sort of collar between them and the open 

 center. 



Decorative. — Double flowers, full to the center, early in the 

 season at least, flat rather than ball-shaped, with broad, flat, some- 

 what loosely arranged floral rays with broad points or rounded 

 tips which are straight or decurved (turned down or back), not 

 incurved, and with margins revolute, if rolled at all. 



Ball-shaped. — Double flowers, full to center, early in the season 

 at least. 



(a) Show type : Flowers globular rather than broad or flat, 



showing regular spiral arrangement of florets, with 

 corollas more or less quilled or with their margins 

 involute (rolled forward or inward). (Dahlias of 

 this type with flowers spotted, variegated, or parti- 

 colored were formerly classed as fancy, a group no 

 longer recognized.) 



(b) Hybrid show, giant show, or colossal show, type: 



Flowers broadlv hemispheric to flatly globular, loosely 

 built, so spiral arrangement of florets is not im- 

 mediately evident ; corollas broad, heavy, cupped or 

 quilled, with rounded tips and more or less involute 

 margins. Verging towards the decorative class and 

 sometimes found classed with the decoratives. 

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