Abstract: In this study，green-center characteristics of spray cut chrysanthemum and the key factors influencing green-center quality were systematically investigated for the purpose of establishing foundation for the breeding of green-center spray cut chrysanthemum. It was found that L*，h，C* of inflorescence center color at the beginning of full flower stage were 37.18–54.05，93.69°–114.76° and 42.84–64.09，respectively. The relative area of green center at the beginning of full flower stage was 13.05%–100.00%，and the duration of green center was 0–15 days. In addition，the weights of five parameters（i.e. the inflorescence center color at the beginning of full flower stage，the relative area of green center at the beginning of full flower stage，the duration of green center，the yellowing time of inflorescence center，and the ornamental value of green center at the end of full flower stage）were 0.273，0.237，0.252，0.136，and 0.101，respectively，by comprehensive scoring method and principal component analysis. Furthermore，49 cultivars were divided into 4 groups of excellent，good，medium and poor，and the numbers of cultivars in each group were 10，12，16 and 11，respectively by grading and scoring of each index，weight calculation and cluster analysis of weighted total scores. Taken together，these results suggest that green-center characteristics are mainly determined by the inflorescence center color at the beginning of full flower stage，the relative area of green center at the beginning of full flower stage，and the duration of green center. The green-center comprehensive evaluation standard will be useful for evaluation and development of green-center spray cut chrysanthemum.

Key words: spray cut chrysanthemum, green-center, CIELAB, evalution, principal component analysis, clustering analysis