DAHLIA 



955 



The Single dahlias may be freely produced, but they 

 are not so lasting for cut-flowers. The Single type has 

 had many ups and downs. In the reaction against 

 formalism, it came to the front about 1881, and for 

 several years thereafter several hundred forms were 

 kept distinct and they were made the chief feature of 



the European 

 shows. When 

 the dahlia first 

 came into culti- 

 vation, its rays 

 were relatively 

 long, slen- 

 der, acuminate, 

 notched at the 

 end, and with 

 such wide spaces 

 between the tips 

 of the rays as to 

 give the flower a 

 stellate appear- 

 ance. In the 

 course of the 

 evolution of the 

 single type, the 

 gardeners re- 

 tained the most 

 regular and sym- 

 metrical forms. 

 Single dahlias 

 with always and 

 only eight rays 

 were preserved. 

 1209. Dahlia Merckii. The rays of 



Redrawn from the Botanical Magazine, dahlias became 

 for 1841. broader and 



rounder, as in 



Fig. 1214, until finally in pedigree varieties the vacant 

 spaces were closed up. The same mental ideals have 

 produced the rose-petaled geraniums and the should- 

 ered tulips. In a high-bred single dahlia there are no 

 minute teeth or notches at the tips of the rays. 



Most of the single dahlias of high pedigree have rays 

 of uniform coloration with no secondary color at the 

 base, but a few have a distinct ring of color at the base, 

 often called an "eye or crown," which is sometimes 

 yellow and rarely red or some other color. Usually the 

 rays of a single dahlia are spread out horizontally, 

 sometimes they bend back, and rarely they bend 

 inwards and form a cup-shaped flower. These three 

 forms can doubtless be separated and fixed during 

 those periods when the interest in the Single type 

 warrants it. Semi-double forms are frequent (Fig. 

 1215). 



Single dahlias are likely to lose some of their rays 

 after a day or two in a vase. In cutting them it is well 

 to choose the younger flowers. A vigorous shake often 

 makes the older ones drop their rays. It is an easy 

 matter to keep the seeds from forming, simply by 

 removing the flowers as they mature, and by so doing 

 save the strength of the plant for the production of 

 flowers. 



There are three other dahlia types of minor impor- 

 tance, the Single Cactus, the Pompon Cactus and 

 Tom Thumb. The Single Cactus type differs from the 

 common Single type in having rays with recurved 

 margins, which give a free and spirited appearance to 

 the flowers. Instead of spreading out horizontally, 

 the rays often curve inward, forming a cup-shaped 

 flower. This type originated with E. J. Lowe, Chep- 

 stow, England, was developed by Dobbie & Co. about 

 1891, and was first disseminated in 1894. The Single 

 Cactus dahlias are very interesting and pretty. The 

 Tom Thumb type is a miniature race of round-rayed 

 single dahlias, which grow from 12 to 18 inches high, 

 and are used for bedding. The type originated in 



61 



England with T. W. Girdlestone, and was developed 

 and introduced by Cheal & Sons. 



The "green" dahlia (Dahlia viridiflora, Hort.) is an 

 interesting abnormal form in which the rays are 

 partially or wholly suppressed, and the chief feature 

 of interest is a confused mass of green, not resembling 

 petals at all, but evidently a multiplication of the outer 

 mvolucral scales, which, in the dahlia, are green, leafy 

 bracts. The "green" dahlia is not unhealthy; it is as 

 strong and vigorous as any of the other forms, but very 

 unstable and variable, producing flowers of solid green 

 color, others of green with small cup-shaped crimson- 

 scarlet petals intermingled, and others of solid crimson- 

 scarlet color, and all on the same plant. This freak 

 was pictured as 'long ago as 1845 in G.C., p. 626; and 

 again in G.C. III. 30: 294. 



Another interesting variation which hardly ranks in 



E resent importance with the eleven types contrasted 

 elow is the laciniated form, which makes a very 

 pretty though rather formal effect. Examples are Ger- 

 mania Nova, Mrs. A. W. Tait and its yellow variety 

 among large double forms, and White Aster among 

 the Pompons. In these cases, the notches at the tips 

 of the rays, instead of being minute and inconspicuous, 

 are deepened so much that they give the laciniated 

 effect. At present this form is available in a very nar- 

 row range of colors. It is not probable that it will be 

 an important factor in producing chrysanthemum-like 

 forms. 



Another form which baffles description, but is 

 nevertheless very distinct, is that of Grand Duke 

 Alexis. It is nearer the Show type than any other, but 

 is perhaps best classed with the Cactus Hybrid sec- 

 tion, simply because it seems advisable to keep the 

 Show type the most sharply defined of all. It is a very 

 flat flower, and the rays are remarkably folded, leav- 

 ing a round hole at the top of each one. Up to 1909 

 the variety of colors of the type of Grand Duke Alexis 

 has been increased, including the varieties Dreer 

 White, Mrs. Roosevelt, Purple Duke, Pythias, W. W. 

 Rawson, and Yellow Duke. 



About midway between Grand Duke Alexis and 

 the Show or cupped type is an interesting form, the 

 "quilled" dahlia, a name which is perhaps necessary, 

 though unfortunate. In A. D. Livoni the rays are 

 rather tightly folded for about two-thirds of their 

 length, leaving a round hole at the tip as in Grand 

 Duke Alexis, but giving a peculiar whorled effect, 

 which plainly shows the spiral arrangement of the suc- 

 cessive tiers of rays. Among Pompons, Blumenfalter 

 is an example of 

 this rosette-like or 

 quilled form, and 

 many colors are 

 procurable. How- 

 ever, the word 

 "quilled" usually 

 suggests a long 

 tube with a flared 

 opening, whereas 

 in the form de- 

 scribed above the 

 margins of the 

 ray are merely 

 rolled tightly to- 

 gether, but not 

 grown together 

 into a thin seam- 

 less tube. Perhaps 

 the most impor- 

 tant variation 

 that has not yet 

 appeared in the 

 dahlia is the won- 

 derful elongation 

 of the disk florets 1210. A Show dahlia. 



