Cocoxochitl

[mary l. clayton]

Fritz,
     According to Louise Schoenhals' _A_ _Spanish_-_English_ _Glossary_
_of_ _Mexican_ _Flora_ and _Fauna_ (SIL 1988):
     "cocoxo'chitl 1. (Dahlia spp., e.g., D. coccinea) "dahlia" Also
called charahuesca, dalia. 2. (Dahlia coccinea) "wild dahlia" Very large
flowering plants. Flowers are simple and range from reddish-orange to
yellow. The plants grow wild in the forests and glades of many mountain
areas. They may be up to 4 meters tall. Also called dalia."

     Joe has several examples of 'acocoxochitl' from the Florentine Codex,
which Dibble and Anderson translate 'Dahlia' and identify as D.  coccinea.
(book 11 p.199 in their edition). They refer to Hernandez vol 1 p.24.

They also have (book 11 p.212)
"xallacocotli - It is a stalk, hollow, spongy within. The name of its
bloom, its blossom is acocoxochitl. It is chili-red, brown, yellow; it is
fuzzy, developed, round -- rounded. Its petals are straight, wide, tender;
they disintegrate."
     footnote "xallacocotli - arracacia atropurpurea

There is also a 'tepeacocoxochitl' ('wild acocochitl'):
     "Iztaquiltic.  also its name is tepeacocoxochitl. It is stalky,
somewhat long, with branches [and leaves] like the ahuehuetl. Its leaves
are green, slick." There follows a paragraph on its medicinal properties
and the maladies that it treats, concluding "It grows in the forest, in
the mountains."  (book 11 p.160)

     How this relates to the hybridized flowers known as dahlias, I don't
know. I'd say the next step would be for the person to check on the
species mentioned. Of course, it's important to remember that many of the
plants and flowers that we see in catalogs don't occur in nature, and also
that they didn't have our system of nomenclature.

     Mary



On Mon, 30 Sep 2002, John F. Schwaller wrote:

>
> Someone has recently contacted to inquire if cocoxochitl refers to the
> flower we call a dahlia.  Clearly it means yellow-flower, but beyond that I
> am at a loss.
>
> Any thoughts out there?
>
>
>
> John F. Schwaller
> Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean
> 315 Behmler Hall
> University of Minnesota, Morris
> 600 E 4th Street
> Morris, MN  56267
> 320-589-6015
> FAX 320-589-6399
> schwallr at mrs.umn.edu
>
>
>