September is the month to see Dahlias opening. here This one is the Anemone-Flowered variety, which was photographed last week:
Dahlias were discovered by European explorers in Mexico, where the indigenous peoples grew them for their edible tubers, medicinal benefits, and hollow stems that were used for water pipes. They’re named after Anders Dahl, an 18th Century Swedish botanist who classified them as vegetables. Do you think that the Double Dahlia below, photographed last September, looks like a vegetable?
Leighton Archive Image
Dahlia plants are among the most popular show flowers in the world and are constantly being engineered into new forms and colors. Some researchers recognize 42 present-day species of Dahlias and divide them into 14 groups according to shapes. It seems that the only color that has not been produced in a Dahlia is blue, and hybrid specialists reportedly are working hard on that. (Brooklin, Maine)