Coiled style
This twisted style is probably the closest to what came from China; often called the ‘dragon style’ (or ‘green dragon’) it is a favorite in Chinese bonsai and is an auspicious presence in the garden. The mystical Chinese dragon symbolizes good fortune and prosperity and in this style the tree coils around itself like a Chinese dragon. The bark appears to twist and wind its way up the trunk, much like a snake coiling its way up a branch.
In nature, trees are forced into all kinds of shapes under the influences of weather, wind and placement. Consequently, bonsai trees can have many shapes and sizes and, depending on their way of growing, they are grouped into various styles and shapes.
Maybe some shapes seem strange and unnatural, but they are all based on the way trees grow in nature. Each tree, however, has its own character and within a certain style there is still an enormous variety. Usually a bonsai tree is given its name according to its shape or the number of trunks it has.
Examples
Bonsai classification
The Japanese devised the coded styles less than a hundred years ago. These styles make it possible to classify the trees according to the shape of their trunks, their branches, their roots. To know the styles is an obligatory base for amateurs. Though nowadays, without renouncing these styles, more importance is attached to the artistic values of movement, harmony and the coherence of the tree.
Bonsai classification by height:
Mame: up to 12cm / 5 inch
Shohin: from 12cm to 28cm / 5 – 11 inch
Chuhin: from 28cm to 60cm / 11 – 22 inch
Dai: from 60cm to 100cm / 22 – 40 inch
Bonsai classification by number of trunks on the same tree:
Tan-kan: 1trunk
So-kan: 2 trunks
San-kan: 3 trunks
Go-kan: 5 trunks
Nana-kan: 7 trunks
Kyu-kan: 9 trunks
