With a history that’s intrinsically tied to Mexico, the dahlia is a striking emblem of its homeland’s desert beauty, while its detailed backstory also links it to Spain, France, Germany and Sweden, too. They thrive in sunny locations and are widely renowned for their striking appearance and their many vivid hues (aside from blue). So, while the sun is still shining we thought it fitting to celebrate the vibrancy of the dahlia for July’s FOTM.
![Dahlia Yellow](https://floom.imgix.net/general/dahlia-yellow.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=8c1bcc80f1a84fcbf46f8b030a401785 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/dahlia-yellow.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=08bd4a28365b7c314f9a273a68be5e4f 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/dahlia-yellow.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=7056b1a958e9f9d779fbfc34a25b81b0 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/dahlia-yellow.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=6c9ca064a7ce7121f026616005d6958a 400w)
A brief history...
Let’s start at the beginning. Despite being first documented by the Spanish in 1525 when they went by their Mexican name acoctili, dahlias disappeared off record until 1787 when they made their way over to Europe after a French explorer sent to retrieve samples of a particular insect famed for its natural red dye came across a garden of dahlias in Oaxaca. And despite being known then, their existence was kept secret for another ten years before being gifted to the public. Their first notable fan? None other than Marie Antoinette who famously fell in love with the stem (there’s a variety named after her now, too).
![Mignon Dahlia](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Mignon-Dahlia.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=9a57c21b6946ee728da3e7bae95541ca 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Mignon-Dahlia.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=af54c44b85cff52a8e6a5961c8f97af8 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Mignon-Dahlia.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=a76fc56bd4e5eac597972c381de56089 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Mignon-Dahlia.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=c4d730d82bfa386e1368891fff2ce864 400w)
While indigenous people used both wild and cultivated dahlias as a source of food for centuries, the Aztecs believed them to be a cure for epilepsy and used the long hollow stems of certain types as water pipes. Many years later (across the pond) dahlias became the favourite flower of the court of Queen Victoria, and it’s during this time that the beauty of the stem inspired great symbolic meaning to express personal sentiments of commitment, dignity, elegance, a meaning that has survived and is still associated with dahlias today.
![Dahlia Pink](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-pink_180807_182656.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=fd5c661551293a5c6d7e0b618d29d118 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-pink_180807_182656.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=e6e4d6b0e2d836ff8b4e65ebd5806f7b 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-pink_180807_182656.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=72fe1bf8095ad71ca847b9b2cc43fcb4 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-pink_180807_182656.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=40ccd625724fc0f0b7cfea5a6e6d751d 400w)
Battle of the names
So why the name ‘dahlia’? This is where the Swedes come in. The stem was named in honour of the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl, though it was rooted in some controversy… Namely an insistence amongst German botanists that the plant be named georgina, after their own star botanist, Johann Gottlieb Georgi. Ze Germans stuck fast to this and continued to refer to the plant as a georgina well into the middle of the 19th century.
![Dahlia Yellow 2](https://floom.imgix.net/general/dahlia-yellow-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=2ff24e8bae053e63e1330c601e8a36ba 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/dahlia-yellow-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=9e1ccae05e43ff9b2c06b8ebc2f257e4 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/dahlia-yellow-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=0628e41f1472b0d7e2ebcef9d62f9c9f 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/dahlia-yellow-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=e0b8f463fa56fcdeaee5f2259035883e 400w)
Pesky, petty European bickering aside, the Dahlia was named the national emblem of Mexico in 1963. Given the invasive impact of Europe upon the lands of central Mexico, there’s a certain satisfaction to be taken from the fact that the Dahlia is said to symbolise grace under pressure.
![Dahlia 4](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=c538698b4e721f246fc66655bff0815b 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=cb1e2f70593af33434ed85b86be597ee 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=6eff651c52ebf4ce5686d102bf6e7c2a 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-4.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=0c8fb599097e80db6b097a6c4ae980d2 400w)
So many species
With relatives that include the sunflower, daisy and chrysanthemum, the dahlia is distinct in its own right: wavy petals that flare out in a manner akin to the mane of a lion, often featuring gradient colours for that tres cool dip-dye effect. From Ball dahlias, Pompon dahlias and Cactus dahlias, to Double Orchid dahlias, Peony-flowered dahlias and Star dahlias – there are in fact 42 species and about 20,000 cultivars of dahlia. This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids — that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants only have two.
![Dahlia Blue](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-blue.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=82982af2fae42c96b7a93ea555083bbb 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-blue.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=3a1638a7f2927117ccfa0c643a6d8a7b 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-blue.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=50ac004fc8ff99df80f494c68c61ad3d 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Dahlia-blue.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=52d5504a256bdb0ba53aa94aa2caaeff 400w)