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Asteraceae
African Marigold
Tagetes erecta
Sacred offerings, sun, devotion.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Genus
- Tagetes
- Native to
- Mexico
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- Annual
- Height
- 30–90 cm (1–3 ft)
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 2–11 (annual)
- Lifespan
- Annual
Did you know
- Like the French marigold, the 'African' marigold is actually Mexican—Spanish conquistadors brought it to North Africa in the 1500s, where it grew wild before reaching Europe, hence the misnomer.
- Its flowers are the soul of the Mexican Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)—their pungent scent and brilliant orange color are believed to guide departed spirits home from the underworld.
- African marigold is the most cultivated flower in India, where literally tons are strung into garlands for Diwali, weddings, and Hindu temple offerings every single day.
- It contains lutein and zeaxanthin—pigments important for eye health—and is now grown as a global commercial crop to extract natural egg-yolk and chicken-skin coloring.
- Aztec emperor Moctezuma II had royal gardens in Tenochtitlan filled with cempasuchil marigolds—when Cortés saw them in 1519, they were among the first New World flowers shipped back to Spain.
Color meanings
0
sacred offerings
1
sun
2
devotion