Dahlia has been declared the national flower of Mexico. These beautiful flowers are a native of the Mexican mountains and have been growing there for many, many years. The flowers appear in a variety of different colours ranging from yellow, lavender, white, purple to different multi-colour varieties, sizes and shapes and blossom throughout summer and autumn.

Grown in abundance all over the country, the flower is an inseparable part of the Mexican as well as the Aztec customs and rituals and is found to be mentioned even in the legends of the country. In ancient times, the flower was grown and cultivated for the purpose of consumption, to be a part of different ceremonies like weddings, for offering at the altar and also for decoration. In the olden times, the tubers of dahlia were consumed like potatoes but were not as tasty. Before the invention of insulin, diabetic patients were given a starch-like substance called Atlantic starch or diabetic sugar which was made from the tubers of the dahlia plant.

The flower is also very popular for its attractive appearance and is welcome as a garden plant, is used widely for landscaping purposes, and due to their long life they are also well known as cut flowers in Mexico.