Beautiful, delicate and vibrant, Dahlias have always been a favorite choice for floral arrangements. With many different sizes, colors, and shapes, they are amazingly versatile and can be used for every occasion, and in every garden. But here are some little known facts about the flowers we all know and love.
A popular flower among farmer’s markets, these summer beauties are used for weddings and flower competitions among other things. At the top of its achievements is being crowned the National Garden Bureau’s flower of the year for 2019. While these flowers are commonly seen in nurseries and gardens, they hide a much richer history than most wouldn’t be aware of.
This is a list of five things the dahlia has been hiding from us.
There are more types of dahlias than think.
In fact, there are thousands of them, with 30 species and over 20,000 cultivars. These cultivars are then categorized based on flowers pattern, size, and resemblance to other flowers such as anemones, waterlilies and cactus blooms. The most popular are the large, decorative types as well as the cactus types and many varieties are used in flower gardens.
Dahlias were originally thought to be a vegetable.
Dahlias are named after Anders Dahl, an 18th-century Swedish botanist. He first categorized dahlias as a vegetable because of its edible tubers and are said to taste like a mix between radishes and potatoes, (please give it a try and let us know!)
Dahlias are used in weddings for their symbolism.
They are commonly used in weddings not just for their looks but also for their symbolic meaning. Dahlias were a symbol of everlasting union and of commitment during the Victorian Era. They also represent creativity, elegance, and inner strength.
Dahlias were first discovered in Central America.
This flower was first discovered in Mexico, in the year 1615 and has since been the country’s national flower. Spanish settlers in Mexico would send the plant’s tubers to Europe in order to use the tubers to balance blood sugar with its high fructose content. The petals were also used to treat infections, rashes, insect bites, and dry skin.
Blue dahlias don’t exist.
Strangely enough, dahlias are available in every color except blue. A London newspaper offered £1 to whoever can create a blue dahlia, back in the nineteenth century. While there have been many attempts that produced a near-blue color, no one has ever claimed the prize as none of the attempts resulted in an actual blue flower. Like other species of flowers, there are no pure black varieties—only dark purple and dark red.