Atlas12 tree records
Atlas — bonsai tree records by style form
Every tree record in the archive, grouped by the style form it is being trained towards. The count beside each form is the number of records, not the number of trees: one tree can appear under several forms over its life, and its record says which one is current.
直幹 Formal upright 1
A dead-straight trunk with even taper from base to apex; the root flare must be visible and radially even.
模様木 Informal upright 1
The trunk moves through a series of curves and returns over the base; the apex finishes above the nebari.
斜幹 Slanting 1
The trunk leaves the soil at 20 to 45 degrees from vertical, anchored by a visibly heavier root mass on the opposite side.
懸崖 Cascade 1
The trunk descends below the base of the pot; the container is tall and works as an anchor rather than as a pot.
半懸崖 Semi-cascade 1
The trunk descends to about the level of the pot base and no further; anything lower becomes a full cascade.
文人木 Literati 1
A tall, thin, often irregular trunk with all foliage confined to the upper quarter of the height.
吹流し Windswept 1
Every branch is trained to one side and the other side is kept completely bare, so the wind direction is unambiguous.
双幹 Double trunk 1
Two trunks from one root mass, the second clearly subordinate at between half and two thirds of the main height.
株立ち Clump 1
Three or more trunks diverging from the same stump below the soil line, so the base reads as one tree.
根上り Exposed root 1
The root mass is lifted above the soil line and forms the lower third of the design rather than being hidden.
石上 Root over rock 1
Roots run over and into the fissures of a rock, gripping it rather than resting alongside it.
寄せ植え Forest planting 1
An odd number of separate trees in one shallow container, grouped in twos and threes rather than evenly spaced.