Dahlia coccinea

Dahlia coccinea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Dahlia
Species:	D. coccinea
Binomial name
Dahlia coccinea Cav.
Synonyms
Bidens cervantesii (Lag.) Baill. ex B.D.Jacks. [Illegitimate] Bidens coccinea (Cav.) Baill. Dahlia acutiflora Moc. & Sessé ex DC. [Invalid] Dahlia bidentifolia Salisb. Dahlia cervantesii (Sweet) Lag. Dahlia chisholmii Rose Dahlia coccinea var. gentryi (Sherff) Sherff Dahlia coccinea var. palmeri Sherff Dahlia coccinea var. steyermarkii Sherff Dahlia coronata Hort. ex Sprague Dahlia crocata Sessé ex Lag. Dahlia crocea Willd.) Poir. Dahlia crocea var. coccinea Poir. Dahlia crocea var. flava (Willd.) Poir. Dahlia frustranea (DC.) DC. Dahlia gentryi Sherff Dahlia gracilis Ortgies Dahlia jaurezii Van der Berg Dahlia lutea Van der Berg Dahlia pinnata var. cervantesii (Lag. ex Sweet) Voss Dahlia pinnata var. coccinea (Cav.) Voss Dahlia pinnata var. gracilis (Ortgies) Voss Dahlia popenovii Saff. Georgina cervantesii Lag. ex Sweet Georgina coccinea (Cav.) Willd. Georgina coccinea var. crocea Willd. Georgina coccinea var. flava Willd. Georgina crocata Sweet Georgina frustranea DC. Georgina frustranea var. coccinea DC. Georgina frustranea var. crocea (Willd.) DC. Georgina frustranea var. flava (Willd.) DC.

Dahlia coccinea is a species in the genus Dahlia, family Asteraceae. Common name is "red dahlia" although the flowers can be orange or occasionally yellow as well as the more common red. The species is native to Mexico but has long been cultivated in other countries for its showy flowers.

Uses

Tubers of the plant were used as a food source by the Aztecs, though this use largely died out after the Spanish conquest. The tubers are highly nutritious.