''Tagetes mendocina'' is a perennial herb commonly used as a

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against her ...

and

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

when cooking. It belongs to the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

and is found in the Cuyo region in western

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Description

The blooms of ''Tagetes mendocina'' are white or yellow, relatively small in comparison to the rest of the species within the genus ''

Tagetes ''Tagetes'' () is a genusSoule, J. A. 1996. Infrageneric Systematics of Tagetes. Pgs. 435-443 in Compositae: Systematics, Proceedings of the International Compositae Conference, Kew 1994, Vol. I, Eds. D.J.N. Hind & H.J. Beentje. of annual or ...

''. This perennial plant has fibrous roots and typically grows to about tall. The leaves are pinnately compound. It is able to grow in many different soil types, though it grows best in areas with good drainage. It can tolerate drought to some extent.

Distribution and habitat

The geographical region in which these species can be found is in Argentina, with in the Cuyo Regions which covers provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, and the Occidental side of San Luis. It consists of diverse regions including high mountain ranges, valley, and desert climate. Its common name in Spanish is ''Chilchil del Cerro'' this could be related to the fact that Chili is west of the Cuyo Regions. “Del Cerro” translates to hills which relates to the diverse mountain ranges. This desert experiences a wide range of temperatures throughout the year, and dry year-round. Cold seasons cause ''T.mendocina'' to go into a vegetative state and flourish during warm season. However, like most plants they will not grow in extremely hot temperatures. According to JSTOR Global plants this species has been found in Mendoza providence. The average temperature in this region can range from 37°F-85°F: rarely below 30°F or above 96°F.

Invasive species

In some areas this may be considered an invasive species but in most it is not. This species is closely related to ''

Tagetes minuta ''Tagetes minuta'' is a tall upright marigold plant from the genus ''Tagetes'', with small flowers, native to the southern half of South America. Since Spanish colonization, it has been introduced around the world, and has become naturalized in ...

'' which is considered a noxious invasive plant in some areas. Cuyo WV map PNG

References

External links

Photo of the plant
on

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q15586370 mendocina Flora of Argentina