Dahlia
Dahlia sp.
Dahlia · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 26 July 2025
A dark-leaved red dahlia in the summer border.
Dahlias are native to Mexico and Central America, where they grow at high elevation as tuberous perennials, and the Aztecs grew them for food as much as ornament. Almost every garden dahlia descends from a handful of wild species crossed and re-crossed since the plant reached Europe in the 1790s, which is why named cultivars run into the thousands and a species name doesn't really apply.
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