Le Rouge Et Le Noir: Why The Black Dahlia Gets Its Color
Saturday, November 24, 2012 - 12:01
in Biology & Nature
How some dahlias, white, yellow, red or purple, get their color is well known, but the molecular mechanism behind the black dahlia has been a mystery. A new study shows that the distinctive black-red coloring is based on an increased accumulation of anthocyanins as a result of drastically reduced concentrations of flavones. Dahlia variabilis hort. is a popular garden flower. Continuous dahlia breeding worldwide has led to the availability of a huge number of cultivars, 20,000 varieties, many of them showing red hues. However, black hues of dahlia flowers occur rarely, in comparison. read more