''Dahlia coccinea'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the daisy family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. Its 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 Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

but has long been cultivated in other countries for its showy flowers.Icon. avanilles3: 33 (-34; t. 266). 1795.

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.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1804715 coccinea Flora of Mexico Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles