Dahlia

Dahlia (UK /deɪliə/ or US /dɑːliə/) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico. A member of the Asteraceae (or Compositae), dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. There are 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 2 in (5.1 cm) diameter or up to 1 ft (30 cm) ("dinner plate"). This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids—that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two. In addition, dahlias also contain many transposons—genetic pieces that move from place to place upon an allele—which contributes to their manifesting such great diversity.

The stems are leafy, ranging in height from as low as 12 in (30 cm) to more than 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m). The majority of species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars. Like most plants that do not attract pollinating insects through scent, they are brightly colored, displaying most hues, with the exception of blue.

Dahlia Lynley-Chivers

Dahlia /ˈdɑːlɪə/ is a fictional character from The Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse Series by author Charlaine Harris. However, she only appears briefly in the novels and the only time she appears on the same page as Sookie Stackhouse is in All Together Dead. Dahlia is the main character in a computer game and in a growing number of non-Sookie-related—though set in the same fictional universe—short stories.
She is a vampire and lives in the city of Rhodes, Iowa.

It is mentioned in Bacon that her original name was too difficult to spell and pronounce for people of the twentieth century so around 1925 she changed it to 'Dahlia' for her own convenience. In 1940, staying in London during the Blitz, Dahlia adopted a surname to get new papers. Since that time her full name has been Dahlia Lynley-Chivers.

In Dahlia Underground she tells humans that she "perhaps" has been a vampire for 900 years, but it is repeatedly said that she is very old, even ancient.

There are a few more hints about her actual age. For example, she considers her knowledge of some no-longer-spoken languages to be really advantageous. It is also said (in the same short story) that her friend Thalia, who is also originally from Greece and even older than Dahlia, is so ancient that she came across Odysseus "a time or two".

Dahlia (song)

"Dahlia" is the thirteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on February 26, 1996.

Summary

"Dahlia" went on to become the title track of the band's 1996 album and one of Yoshiki's last compositions in his signature blend of speed and symphonic metal. The song's title, "Dahlia", appears in the lyrics as an acronym during a voice over, which says "destiny, alive, heaven, love, innocence, always, destroy, aftermath, hell, life, infinite".

The single was released with two different covers. The B-side is a live version of "Tears", recorded on December 30, 1993 at the Tokyo Dome. The same recording also appears on their live compilation album Live Live Live Tokyo Dome 1993-1996.

Commercial performance

The single reached number 1 on the Oricon charts, and charted for 8 weeks. In 1996, with 412,810 copies sold was the 72nd best-selling single of the year, being certified Platinum by RIAJ.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Yoshiki, except track 2 lyrics by Hitomi Shiratori and Yoshiki.