Manhattan Dahlia, 2 : Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)

Search

Concisus Vitae

GrrlScientist is a colorful parrot who writes by typing with her beak. She's also an evolutionary biologist and a proud member of the vast left-wing conspiracy that your mother warned you about.

Online interviews with GrrlScientist: Kolibri Expeditions, ScienceOnline09, Nature Blog Network and ScienceBlogs. More biographical information about GrrlScientist.

Follow GrrlScientist:

GrrlScientist's banner was designed by graphic artist, Jeff Hebert, whose other work can be viewed at his site, Hero Machine.

$upport This Scholar

Worthy Causes to $upport

Meters and Counters

Deep archives

More than 330 articles on topics ranging from avian influenza to evolution of birds

Rotating Drinking Pals

Rotating Reciprocal Links

Reading/Viewing

Blog Essay Publications

Book Contributions

Bookmarking/Networking

Nominate your science, nature or medical writing to Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the Public) blog carnival using the widget above or send the link directly to Scientia Blog Carnival.

Subscribe to updates

My Little Radio Station (Music)

News and Talk

Miscellaneous

« Mystery Bird: Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata | Main | TEDTalks: Why We Have Virus Outbreaks and How We Can Prevent Them »

Manhattan Dahlia, 2

Topic Categories: Image of the Day • My Pictures • NYC Through My Eye • Nature
Posted on: May 27, 2009 2:59 PM, by "GrrlScientist"

tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day

Dahlia, Dahlia hybrid.

Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side
on West 81st street as I was walking to the post office.

Image: GrrlScientist, 26 May 2009 [larger view].

Dahlias comprise a genus with at least 36 species of bushy plants that are native to the western regions of Central and South America. There are more than 20,000 named cultivars of these plants in captivity, which are the result of both hybridization and chromosomal duplication: Dahlias are octoploid -- possessing eight copies of each homologous chromosome, whereas most plants have only two copies of each chromosome.

Find more posts in: Life Science Humanities & Social Science

Share this: Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More

TrackBacks

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/110961

Comments

We could have a "what's the mystery insect" contest with these photos, couldn't we?

Posted by: Bob O'H | May 27, 2009 3:29 PM

okay .. i'll name the insects "bob1" and "bob2" ..

Posted by: "GrrlScientist" | May 27, 2009 3:40 PM

What are their identifying marks?

Um, perhaps I shouldn't ask that.

Posted by: Bob O'H | May 27, 2009 3:44 PM

...native to the western regions of Central and South America.

And western Mexico as well. Quite a few popular garden and greenhouse ornamentals originated in Mexico, such as cosmos, zinnias, salvias (including many hummingbird-pollinated species and varieties), begonias, coral bells (Heuchera), bat-face cuphea (C. llavea), shell flower (Tigridia pavonia), and the ever-popular poinsettia. It's cool to (sometimes literally) stumble across a familiar-looking flower while birding across the border in Sonora or Chihuahua and realize it's a wild cousin of one of my favorite garden plants.

Posted by: Sheri Williamson | May 28, 2009 3:58 AM

ScienceBlogs

Search ScienceBlogs:

Go to:

The Latest Readers' Picks

Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)