Just One Drop at a Time

As you can see it has been wet again in Christchurch. The afternoon was a little drier and the sun did try and show its beautiful face for a odd moment or two.

The Genus Dahliais native of Mesoamerica, principally in the high plains of Mexico also some species can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador & Costa Rica (Probably introduced by the Toltecs or their ancestors) as well as parts of South America were it was introduced and at present there are 35 recognised species in existence. Botanically the Genus Dahlia belongs to the familyCompositae(Asteraceae), tribe Heliantheae, and was given the Genus name "GEORGINA" in error in 1803, a name by which it is still known in many eastern parts of Europe.

The Dahlia has been in Europe for over two hundred years. It came from Mexico to the Botanical Gardens in Madrid towards the end of the eighteenth century and was named by Abbe Cavanille in honour of Andreas Dahl, Swedish scientist come environmentalist.

The initial named species imported into Europe were Dahlia pinnata, Dahlia rosea and Dahlia coccinea. The first dahlias grown out side of Madrid were single (open-centred) & Multi-ray open centre flowered, but it was not long before the horticultural growers of the day discovered the Dahlia was a natural hybrid and when grown from seed, it readily changed its form and colour, so that today we have a range of Dahlia types that offer something to please everyone.
For more information on the Dahlia.