''Tagetes patula'', the French marigold, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

, native to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

with several

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

populations in many other countries. It is widely cultivated as an easily grown bedding plant with hundreds of cultivars, which often have bright yellow to orange flowers. Some authorities regard ''Tagetes patula'' as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of ''

Tagetes erecta ''Tagetes erecta'', the Aztec marigold, Mexican marigold, big marigold, ''cempaxochitl'' or ''cempasúchil'', is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Tagetes'' native to Mexico and Guatemala. Despite being native to the Americas, it is of ...

'', the Mexican marigold.

Description

''Tagetes patula'' is an annual, occasionally reaching tall by wide. In some climates it flowers from July to October. In its native habitat of the highlands of central Mexico, blooms are produced from September to killing frost. Achenes ripen and are shed within two weeks of the start of bloom. The heads contain mostly

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

(having both male and female organs)

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

s and are pollinated primarily by beetles in the wild, as well as by tachinid flies and other

insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...

. The leaves of all species of marigold include oil glands. The oils are pungent.Soule, J. A. 1993. "The Biosystematics of ''Tagetes''" Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas It can grow in both sandy and clay soils provided they have good

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...

. It requires full sun to partial shade. French marigold garden 2009 G1

Etymology

The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''patula'' means 'with a spreading habit'.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to

and

Rydberg, Per Axel 1913. in Britton, Nathaniel Lord, North American Flora 34: 154-155
/ref> with several

populations in many other countries.

Cultivation

This plant is valued for its velvet-textured, brightly coloured blooms in shades of yellow, orange and russet in summer. It is shorter, and has a more spreading habit, than its relative the Mexican marigold (''Tagetes erecta''). It is therefore more suitable as an edging plant in the open border. Moreau et al 2006 attempted to protect ''

Solanum tuberosum The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

'' (potato) against ''

Leptinotarsa decemlineata The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''; also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, and the potato bug) is a beetle known for being a major Pest (organism), pest of potato crops. ...

'' (potato beetle) by intercropping with ''T. patula'' but instead found it acting as an

attractant An attractant is any chemical that attracts an organism, e.g. i) synthetic lures; ii) aggregation and sex pheromones (intraspecific interactions); and iii) synomone (interspecific interactions) Synomone An interspecific semiochemical that is ...

, resulting in greater infestation and lower yields. (They also found the same for another purported repellent, '' Armoracia rusticana''.) ''Tagetes patula'' is frost intolerant, given a

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

hardiness rating of H2, capable of surviving temperatures of but killed by freezing temperatures. They are grown by gardeners in moderately fertile, but well-drained soil in full sun with evenly moist conditions.

Cultivars

Hundreds of cultivars have been developed, of which the following have gained the

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

:- *'Bonanza Flame' *Bonanza Series *'Dainty Marietta' *'Disco Orange' *'Disco Yellow' *'Fireball' *'Hero Orange' *'Honeycomb' *'Queen Sophia' *'Safari Mixture' *'Safari Scarlet' *'Safari Tangerine' *'Tiger Eyes' *'Yellow Jacket' *'Zenith Golden Yellow' *'Zenith Lemon Yellow' *'Zenith Yellow'

Uses

Culinary

The dried and ground flower petals constitute a popular spice in the Republic of Georgia in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, where they are known as imeruli shaphrani (= 'Imeretian Saffron') from their pungency and golden colour and particular popularity in the Western province of

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი, ) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 mun ...

. The spice imparts a unique, rather earthy flavour to

Georgian cuisine Georgian cuisine ( ka, ქართული სამზარეულო, tr) consists of cooking traditions, techniques, and practices of Georgia. Georgian cuisine has a distinct character, while bearing some similarities with various nationa ...

, in which it is considered especially compatible with the flavours of

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

and

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, ...

. It is also an essential ingredient in the spice mixture khmeli suneli (reputedly as significant to Georgian cuisine as

garam masala Garam masala (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ''garam masālā'', ) is a Spice mix, blend of ground spices originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is common in Indian cuisine, Indian, Pakistani cuisine, Pakistani, Nepalese cuisine, Nepale ...

is to that of

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

).Goldstein D. 1993 "The Georgian Feast" HarperCollins

Colouring

''Tagetes patula'' florets are grown and harvested annually to add to poultry feed to help give the yolks a golden color. The florets can also be used to color human foods. A golden yellow dye is used to color animal-based textiles (wool, silk) without a

mordant A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to set (i.e., bind) dyes on fabrics. It does this by forming a coordination complex with the dye, which then attaches to the fabric (or tissue). It may be used for dyeing fabrics or for intensifying ...

, but a mordant is needed for cotton and synthetic textiles.

Fragrance

The whole plant is harvested when in flower and distilled for its

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

. The oil is used in

perfumery Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

. It is blended with

sandalwood oil Sandalwood oil is an essential oil obtained from the steam distillation of chips and billets cut from the heartwood of various species of sandalwood trees, mainly ''Santalum album'' (Indian sandalwood) and ''Santalum spicatum'' (Australian sanda ...

to produce 'attar genda' perfume. About of oil can be extracted from of the plant yielding of flowers and of herbage.

Other

Many cultures use medicinal infusions from dried leaves or florets. Research also suggests that the essential oil has the ability to be used as residual

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

against bedbugs. The essential oil is being investigated for

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as ...

activity, including treatment of

candidiasis Candidiasis is a fungal infection due to any species of the genus '' Candida'' (a yeast). When it affects the mouth, in some countries it is commonly called thrush. Signs and symptoms include white patches on the tongue or other areas of the ...

and treating fungal infections in plants.

Gallery

French Marigold -- October Birthday Flower -- Tagetes patula.jpg, French Marigold—October Birthday Flower—Tagetes patula Marigold Kiit.jpg, Marigold flower UIUC Arboretum 20070922 img 1764.jpg, Moth on flower Cravo de defunto.jpg, Bunch of flowers Tagetes 20050925.jpg, On a plant pot Tagetes-flower grow-3.jpg, Emerging flower Tagetes-sprouting.jpg, Sprouting germ Tagetes-anatomy.jpg, Sprouting shoots Tagetes-2.jpg, Flowerbed

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q644934 patula Flora of Mexico Flora of Guatemala Spices Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Annual plants Plant dyes