Dahlias - Actually Taste Like Potatoes!

Every year Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park has an amazing Dahlia Show - I never knew how very interesting they are before I went to the Dahlia Show - not only do they come in many sizes, but in nearly every color except for blue and black. So, as we learn about flowers, the Dahlia had to be one I shared fun facts about with you - so you can share with the children you love!

Dahlias . . . 

• Are the national flower of Mexico.
• They were cultivated by the Aztecs as food and medicine, with tubers tasting similar to potatoes.
• Aztecs called the dahlia "acocotli," meaning "water pipe," and used its long hollow stems to carry water.
• Before insulin was discovered, diabetics utilized "Atlantic starch" extracted from dahlia tubers.
• In Victorian flower language, they represent love, beauty, devotion, and elegance.
• Dahlias range in size from small bedding plants to over 6-meter-tall trees.
• Unlike most plants which are diploids, dahlias are octoploids, possessing eight sets of chromosomes, which contributes to their high variability.
• Both the tubers and the petals are edible, often used in salads or cooked.

You will find more fun facts about Dahlias at this link.