Garden Alphabet: Dahlia

I wish this Dahlia was in my own garden, but I spotted 2 similar plants in my neighborhood walk the other night. They are quite showy and seemed to have suddenly appeared. I hadn’t noticed them before and then, “boop” there they were.

Garden Alphabet: Dahlia

Dahlia

“Dahlia (UK /deɪliə/ or US /dɑːliə/)[3] is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native mainly in Mexico, but also Central America, and Colombia. A member of the Asteraceae or Compositae, dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum and zinnia. There are at least 36 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 2 in (5.1 cm) diameter or up to 1 ft (30 cm) (“dinner plate”). This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids—that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two. In addition, dahlias also contain many transposons—genetic pieces that move from place to place upon an allele—which contributes to their manifesting such great diversity.“ — Wikipedia.org

More information on Dahlia:
 
Plants and Seeds:
 
 

Previously in Garden Alphabet:

Read more on this topic:

  1. Garden Alphabet: Japanese Cherry (Prunus serrulata)
  2. Garden Alphabet: Datura from Santa Cruz Island
  3. Garden Alphabet: Banana
  4. Garden Alphabet: Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)
  5. Garden Alphabet: Catalpa