138 . FLORA DOMESTICA. 



DAHLIA. 



t OKYMBIKFK.!.. SYNGENESIA POLYGAMIA SUPEBFLUA. 



French, georgine ; Italian, Giorgina. Georgina is its English name, 

 :but it is generally called by the botanical appellation. 



THE Dahlia was named in honour of Andrew Dahl, a 

 Swedish botanist. There are several species, all natives of 

 the mountainous parts of the Spanish settlements in South 

 America. Two of them, the fertile rayed (Dahlia su- 

 perflua) and the barren rayed (Dahlia Jrustranea), are in 

 common cultivation in our nurseries : a third (Dahlia cro- 

 -cata) was introduced in 1816. The flowers are large and 

 handsome ; mostly red or purple, and the colours beauti- 

 fully vivid. It is a very lofty plant, and the foliage is 

 coarse and rank. It is thought to grow less luxuriantly, 

 and to flower better, if planted in a poor and gravelly soil, 

 in the open ground : they may, however, be obtained in 

 pots. They will bear open air ; and the roots will live a 

 long time out of the earth without injury. The best time 

 to plant them is in April. A recent improvement in the 

 culture of this beautiful plant is to graft the young buds 

 upon the tubers. They do not require much water. 



This flower, comparatively a stranger in England till 

 lately, from its great beauty has become very popular. It 

 blows about the end of September, or the beginning of 

 October, and when in flower, it makes a brilliant figure in 

 the nursery-gardens, where many are planted together, and 

 of various colours. It makes a fine show in a bouquet 

 too, but will not long survive the gathering. The double 

 flowers are as magnificent as the peony itself. 



The best account of the Dahlia is to be found in the 

 second part of the Transactions of the Horticultural Society, 

 by R. A. Salisbury, Esq. 



