Four Interesting Fun Facts About Dahlias

As a photographer and member of a Maryland-based Senior Photography group, I began to take an interest in photographing flowers. One flower I never noticed was the Dahlia. One sunny day in October, October 6, 2020 to be exact, I chanced upon a Dahlia garden. These flowers were absolutely gorgeous and in full bloom!

Here are a few fun facts about the Dahlia:

(1) Dahlias are members of the Daisy family. Yes, indeed! It makes sense because when you look at some of the dahlias, their pedals resemble those of daisies. Dahlia's belong to the Asteraceae (Aster) family along with the sunflowers.

(2) Dahlias were originally classified as a vegetable. Yes, edible. I personally don't know anyone that has tried to eat a dahlia. It is said that the tubers (aka "bulbs") taste like a mix between potatoes, celery, carrots, and radishes. Hmmm, interesting wouldn't you say?

(3) Dahlias come in many different sizes and colors. They range in size from very small/petite 2 inch pom poms to gigantic 15 inch size and they can grow anywhere from 4 to 5 feet tall; sometimes even beyond. Not all varieties of the dahlia can grow to such heights, but most of them can. Dahlias mainly can be found in the wild, high in the hills from Guatemala to Colombia.

(4) There are thousands of varieties of Dahlias. So amazing! In addition, there are 30 species of Dahlias and over 20,000 cultivars (bulbs) from 9 flower classifications. Wow!!!

So, there you have it. I still have a lot more studying to do where Dahlias are concerned, but I wanted to share a few fun facts and photos I took this past October. Please visit my website, specifically my "Flowers" Collection at https://emmy-vickers.pixels.com/collections/flowers where you will see beautiful Dahlias as well as other kinds of flowers..

Thank you for allowing me the time to share.

Emmy Vickers,
Photographer