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Dahlia rosea

Common name:	Dahlia	Family:	Compositae
Author:	Cav.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Southern N. America - Mexico.
Habitat:	Pine-oak forests and sandy meadows to 1500 metres[4, 181].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	D. pinnata[B,G,HORTIPLEX,P] D. sp.[G] D. variabilis[G] Georgina variabilis[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Garden Dahlia [B], Pinnate Dahlia [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	rosea = rose colored
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.5m. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Condiment Flowers Root Sweetener.

The flower petals are used in salads[2].
Root - cooked and used as a vegetable[61, 105]. A bitter flavour[200]. Inedible according to another report[2]. A sweet extract of the tuber, called 'dacopa', is used as a beverage or as a flavouring. It is mixed with hot or cold water and sprinkled on ice cream. Its naturally sweet mellow taste is said to combine the characteristics of coffee, tea and chocolate[183]. The root is rich in the starch inulin. Whilst not absorbed by the body, this starch can be converted into fructose, a sweetening substance suitable for diabetics to use[4, 61].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Miscellany.

A valuable and much needed drug was extracted from dahlia roots during the first world war[4]. No more information was given in the report[K].

Other Uses

Dye.

Yellow and gold dyes are obtained from the flowers and seed heads[169].

Cultivation details

Requires a deep rich soil and a sunny position[1], disliking shade[200].
The growing plant is very frost-tender, though the tubers are somewhat hardier. However, these tubers are not reliably hardy if left in the ground over winter in Britain[200]. They are best harvested after the foliage is killed off by frost and then stored in a cool but frost-free place over the winter, planting out in April/May[200].
A parent of the cultivated garden dahlia[1]. There is some confusion over this name, this entry might refer to D. hortensis or D. pinnata[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter to mid spring in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 20° c[164]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of young shoots in early spring. The tubers are usually brought into the greenhouse in late winter in order to encourage early growth and young basal shoots are removed as soon as they are large enough[200].
Division. The roots are usually harvested in the autumn. These can be divided into individual tubers when planting out in the spring. Each portion should have a growing point[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Dahlia pinnata (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Dahlia sp. (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[181] Pesman. M. W. Meet Flora Mexicana. Dale S. King. Arizona. 1962
Very readable flora but rather lacking botanically. A few notes on useful plants.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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