Dahlia (Dahlia cultorum), fam. Asteraceae.
   Grown in the city, though not very often. Flowers in August.
   Wild Dahlia varieties occur in Mexico, therefrom their cultivars have spread around the world about 200 years ago. At first, the flowers were small and not many-petaled, so their discoverers have not spend much attention to them. Instead of this, they became interested in the tubers, tried to cook some dishes from them (even to the royal table!), but none of this gave any result… Nevertheless, the concoction and tincture from the tubers are still sometimes used as medicine: they improve metabolism and pancreas function. The juice from the leaves heals wounds.
   Dahlia prefers sunny places. One of the difficulties of growing it is the storage of tubers (roots) in winter, because they will freeze if left outdoors in Kyiv climate. Dug out after first autumn frosts, they require the temperature +5 and low humidity. There are also annual Dahlia cultivars.

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