Ferncliff Illusion Dahlia is a photograph by Marcia Colelli which was uploaded on September 4th, 2015.
Title
Ferncliff Illusion Dahlia
Artist
Marcia Colelli
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
Ferncliff Illusion Dahlia
Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico. A member of the Asteraceae, dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. There are 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 2 in. diameter or up to 1 ft. This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two. In addition, dahlias also contain many transposons genetic pieces that move from place to place upon an allele which contributes to their manifesting such great diversity.The stems are leafy, ranging in height from as low as 12 in. to more than 6-8 ft. The majority of species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars. Like most plants that do not attract pollinating insects through scent, they are brightly colored, displaying most hues, with the exception of blue.The dahlia was declared the national flower of Mexico in 1963. The tubers were grown as a food crop by the Aztecs, but this use largely died out after the Spanish Conquest. Attempts to introduce the tubers as a food crop in Europe were unsuccessful. Spaniards reported finding the plants growing in Mexico in 1525, but the earliest known description is by Francisco Hernandez, physician to Philip II, who was ordered to visit Mexico in 1570 to study the "natural products of that country". They were used as a source of food by the indigenous peoples, and were both gathered in the wild and cultivated. The Aztecs used them to treat epilepsy,and employed the long hollow stem of the Dahlia imperalis for water pipes.The indigenous peoples variously identified the plants as "Chichipatl" and "Acocotle" or Aztecs. From Hernandez' perception of Aztec, to Spanish, through various other translations, the word is "water cane", "water pipe", "water pipe flower", "hollow stem flower" and "cane flower". All these refer to the hollowness of the plants' stem
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Uploaded
September 4th, 2015
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