Here’s some fun facts on Flower Blog about this southern beauty, the Dahlia:
- Dahlias are related to: the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum and zinnia.
- Spanish Hidalgos reported finding the plants growing in Mexico in 1525, but the earliest known description is by physician Francisco Hernández, who was ordered by Philip II to visit Mexico in 1570. It wasn’t until 1787 that the first Dahlia was brought back to Europe and successfully flowered in 1789.
Credit: Stephen Danko
- The Aztecs used Dahlias to treat epilepsy, and used the long, hollow stem of the (Dahlia imperalis) for water pipes.
Credit: Mike Darcy
- In 1805, several new species of Dahlia were reported with red, purple, lilac, and pale yellow coloring across Europe, and the first true “double” flower was produced in Belgium.
- Prior to the discovery of insulin in 1923, diabetics in American and Europe were often given a substance called Atlantic starch or diabetic sugar, derived from inulin, a naturally occurring form of fruit sugar extracted from dahlia tubers.
Credit: content from Wikipedia
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