In 1787, the French botanist Nicolas-Joseph Thiéry de Menonville, sent to Mexico to steal the cochineal insect valued for its scarlet dye, reported the strangely beautiful flowers he had seen growing in a garden in Oaxaca. The original manuscripts were destroyed in a fire in the mid-1600s. In 1640, Francisco Cesi, President of the Academia dei Lincei of Rome, bought the Ximenes translation and, after annotating it, published it in 1649–1651 as two volumes, Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus Seu Nova Plantarium, Animalium et Mineralium Mexicanorum Historia. It was translated into Latin by Francisco Ximenes in 1615. In 1578, a manuscript titled Nova Plantarum, Animalium et Mineralium Mexicanorum Historia, was sent back to the Escorial in Madrid. Three of his drawings showed plants with flowers: two resembled the modern bedding dahlia, and one resembled the species Dahlia merckii all displayed a high degree of doubleness. Francisco Dominguez, an Hidalgo gentleman who accompanied Hernandez on part of his seven-year study, made a series of drawings to supplement the four volume report. Hernandez described two varieties of dahlias (the pinwheel-like Dahlia pinnata and the huge Dahlia imperialis) as well as other medicinal plants of New Spain. All these refer to the hollowness of the plants' stem. From Hernandez's perception of Aztec, to Spanish, through various other translations, the word is "water cane", "water pipe", "water pipe flower", "hollow stem flower" and "cane flower". The indigenous peoples variously identified the plants as "Chichipatl" ( Toltecs) and "Acocotle" or "Cocoxochitl" (Aztecs). The Aztecs used them to treat epilepsy, and employed the long hollow stem of the Dahlia imperialis for water pipes. They were used as a source of food by the indigenous peoples, and were both gathered in the wild and cultivated. Spaniards reported finding the plants growing in Mexico in 1525, but the earliest known description is by Francisco Hernández, physician to Philip II, who was ordered to visit Mexico in 1570 to study the "natural products of that country". Attempts to introduce the tubers as a food crop in Europe were unsuccessful. The tubers were grown as a food crop by the Aztecs, but this use largely died out after the Spanish Conquest. The dahlia was declared the national flower of Mexico in 1963. Like most plants that do not attract pollinating insects through scent, they are brightly colored, displaying most hues, with the exception of blue. The majority of species do not produce scented flowers. The stems are leafy, ranging in height from as low as 30 cm (12 in) to more than 1.8–2.4 m (6–8 ft). 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. This great variety results from garden dahlias being octoploids-that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem these can be as small as 5 cm (2 in) diameter or up to 30 cm (1 ft) ("dinner plate"). There are 49 species of Dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. As a member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. Supplied as a pack of 5 tubers, ready to plant out.Dahlia ( UK: / ˈ d eɪ l i ə/ DAY-lee-ə, US: / ˈ d æ l j ə, ˈ d ɑː l j ə, ˈ d eɪ l j ə/ DA(H)L-yə, DAYL-yə) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. What Is SuppliedĦ30320 Dahlia Pom Pom Mix InStock 12.99 GBP Supplied as a pack of 5 tubers, ready to plant out. They also make fabulous cut flowers so pick a bunch of these pastel beauties to bring into your home for amazing colour.ĭahlias will need some winter protection if you want them to return next year, we recommend that you dig them up before the first frost arrives and keep them stored over the winter. Dahlias are perfect for planting in your bed, borders, patio pots and containers. In bloom from June through to September, they are easy to grow and packed full of energy to burst into growth in Spring and produce a mass of bright colours which will pepper your garden like gemstones as Summer turns to Autumn. Growing to 90cm tall, they are perfect for adding different shapes, textures, and heights to your summer displays. This mix will fill your garden with unique double blooms that grow into a fascinating spherical shape of curved petals. Incredibly beautiful, Dahlia Pom Poms are quite possibly some of the most fascination flowers you can grow in your garden.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |