A Clematis and a Daisy 
Maybe the seed company decided to play a trick on me and slipped some "surprise" seeds in with the Dahlia's. You know actually i think this Dahlia is close in appearance to the originals that grow wild, although i have been looking for Dahlias in the wild since i arrived in Mexico but haven't found any yet. There is a black dahlia that grows wild but is very rare...that would be a fun find. Dahlia is the national flower of Mexico. Dahlias are kind of like hibiscus (and any number of other plants) that have been bred out of any resemblance to the original flower. The reason i chose this variety is that is has single petals and a big center and is much preferred by the nectar-lovers...they have a hard time getting at the nectar and pollen with the pom poms. You never know what you are going to get color wise and i didn't know there were bi-colored ones, so i was quite taken by the color combination here. 
Just to make sure though, i'll go out and ask it if it really is a Dahlia and report back to you what she has to say for herself.
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