dahlia n : any of several plants of or developed from the species Dahlia pinnata having tuberous roots and showy rayed variously colored flower heads; native to the mountains of Mexico and Central America and Colombia [syn: Dahlia pinnata]

see Dahlia

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑːliə, -eɪliə

Noun

1. Any plant of the genus Dahlia, tuberous perennial flowering plants native to Mexico.

Translations

• Arabic: (dāliyyā)
• Bulgarian: далия , гергина
• Dutch: dahlia
• Esperanto: dalio
• Finnish: daalia
• German: Dahlie
• Italian: dalia
• Polish: dalia
• Spanish: dalia
• Urdu: (ḍahlīyā)

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, perennial plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. There at least 36 species of Dahlia. Dahlia hybrids are commonly grown as garden plants. The Aztecs gathered and cultivated the dahlia for food, ceremony, as well as decorative purposes , and the long woody stem of one variety was used for small pipes.

In 1872 a box of Dahlia roots were sent from Mexico to the Netherlands. Only one plant survived the trip, but produced spectacular red flowers with pointed petals. Nurserymen in Europe bred from this plant, which was named Dahlia juarezii with parents of Dahlias discovered earlier and these are the progenitors of all modern Dahlia hybrids. Ever since, plant breeders have been actively breeding Dahlias to produce thousands of cultivars, usually chosen for their stunning and brightly coloured flowers. Dahlia plants range in height from as low as 12" (30cm) to as tall as 6-8 feet (180-240cm). The flowers can be as small as 2" (5 cm) or up to a foot (30 cm) in diameter. The great variety results from Dahlias being octoploids (they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two).

Dahlias are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Angle Shades, Common Swift, Ghost Moth and Large Yellow Underwing.

The dahlia is named after Swedish 18th-century botanist Anders Dahl. Until recently they were also named in Germany as "georgine" by the botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow, after the naturalist Johann Gottlieb Georgi of St. Petersburg.

cultivar

Dahlia 'Dahlstar Sunset Pink' is a miniature Dahlia cultivar with pink flowers that shade to yellow in the centre. Height and spread are 15 cm.

Bloom forms

The "American Dahlia Society" recognizes 19 distinct bloom forms:

• Formal Decorative
• Informal Decorative
• Straight Cactus
• Semi Cactus
• Incurved Cactus
• Laciniated
• Ball
• Mini Ball
• Pom
• Waterlilly
• Stellar
• Novelty Fully Double
• Novelty Open Center
• Anenome
• Single
• Collerette
• Orchid
• Mignon Single

Gallery

Here are some photos of dahlias:

image:ADELAIDEFONTANE.jpg|Dahlia 'Adelaide Fontane' image:AKITA.jpg|Dahlia 'Akita' image:APPLEBLOSSOM2.jpg| Dahlia 'Appleblossom' image:ARABIANIGHT.jpg|Dahlia 'Arabian Night' image:ARTDECO.jpg| Dahlia 'Art Deco' image:ASAHICHOHJI.jpg|Dahlia 'Asahi Chohji' image:ASPEN.jpg|Dahlia 'Aspen' image:AURORASKISS.jpg|Dahlia 'Aurora's Kiss'

References

See also

• List of dahlia diseases

External links

• The United Kingdom National Dahlia Collection
• American Dahlia Society
• The National Dahlia Society of New Zealand
• Dahlia Flower Care
• Info about care for dahlias
  • Dahlia rosea at pfaf
  • Dahlia pinnata at pfaf
• Gallery of Dahlia Images
• Dahlia species
• The medicinal and nutritional properties of Dahlia spp.