Dahlias

I started out with a couple of dahlia plants 3 years ago–each fall I'd divide them and store them and replant and somehow I've ended up with a 12 foot long swathe of 7-foot tall dahlias.
Just like the proverbial zucchini-can't-give-it away stories, I am now just whacking them back and shoving them into the compost; because my neighbours run away when they see me approaching with a fistful.

Below, a drawing from a wood block rendered for a book, Hernandez' Thesaurus.

Francisco Hernandez, personal physician to Spain's King Phillip II, sailed to Mexico in 1570 and spent the subsequent five years recording and illustrating a natural history compendium. Dahlias were thought to have medicinal properties, but I wouldn't recommend chomping down on one without doing some careful reading first!

A "double-flowered" dahlia, called Acocoxochitl.Redrawn  from Hernandez’ Thesaurus