Common Name:

General Information

Dahlia sherffii is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuberous rootstock; it can grow around 60 - 130cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. The tubers were widely eaten in pre-Colombian times, and although still used occasionally in the present day, their use is declining[]

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southern N. America - northern and western Mexico

Habitat

Open or lightly-wooded rocky slopes, ledges, fields, and
roadside; at elevations from 1,800 - 2,550 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.85 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Most Dahlia species in Mexico grow at moderate to higher elevations, typically above 2,100 metres in southern Mexico, where there can be rapid changes in temperature, but no frosts[]. The dahlia’s home area in the volcanic highlands of southern Mexico is hot and dry during the winter months but the rainy season during summer is characterized by afternoon thunderstorms. Also, dahlias are adapted to grow while being bathed in dew from the low hanging clouds[].
Dahlia species in the wild are generally found on well-drained hillsides, rough banks and cliffs. The soil is typically a soft, porous and sandy loam with a gravelly subsoil which is often volcanic and mildly acidic[].
Dahlia tubers are worth some experimentation as a root crop either for food or for sugar production since their root sugar content is quite respectable even without artificial selection. For example, up to 15 sweet potato-sized tubers, containing as much as 13% fruit sugar, can be produced by a single plant in one season under optimum conditions. This high sugar content, even among wild dahlias, compares favorably with sugar beets, even though sugar beets have been scientifically selected so that their sugar content has been increased from 7% to 20%. Such scientific breeding could lead to a similar increase in the sugar content of dahlias if they become recognized as a worthwhile agricultural plant[].

Edible Uses

The long thin tuberous roots are eaten fresh or cooked[].
There are contradictory reports regarding the edibility of Dahlia tubers, ranging from sweet and juicy to extremely bitter, hot and dry tasting and virtually inedible. This could be due to the time of year the tubers are harvested. If gathered at the beginning of the rainy season - after the inulin had been converted by enzymatic action to produce fruit sugar and before the rapid growth of the tall stalk had depleted the tubers of food - then the tubers would, indeed, have been sweet tasting and juicy. In the second case, if the tubers were gathered late in the growing season or at the beginning of the dry season - before the return of the plants’ food and water resources back into the tubers for storage -then the medicinal constituents of the depleted tubers (especially the skin) could have been expected to give a potent and unpleasant taste. In short, dahlia tubers to be eaten raw immediately should be harvested in the spring, and those intended for medicinal use should be gathered later in the summer when the growing season is well advanced but before the start of the dry season and those intended for baking or storage as food should be gathered well after the start of the dry season when the upper parts of the plant have wilted down in the manner of potato stalks and the tubers are full of inulin, which keeps well[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 20°c[]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until large enough to plant out.
Cuttings of young shoots as new growth begins.
Division of the tubers when dormant. Each portion should have a growing point[].

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.

Name:

Email(Private):

Message:

Captcha: subtract 1 from 12