![Tagetes patula MHNT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Tagetes_patula_MHNT.BOT.2007.43.30.jpg)
''Tagetes patula'', the French marigold,
is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of flowering plant in 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 ...
, native to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
[Rydberg, Per Axel 1913. in Britton, Nathaniel Lord, North American Flora 34: 154-155]
/ref> with several naturalised
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...
populations in many other countries. It is widely cultivated as an easily grown bedding plant In horticulture, bedding is temporary planting of fast-growing plants into flower beds to create colourful displays, during spring, summer or winter. Plants used for bedding are generally annuals, biennials or Hardiness (plants), tender perennials; ...
, with thousands of different cultivars in brilliant shades of yellow and orange.
Some authorities regard ''Tagetes patula'' as a synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly 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 all ...
of ''Tagetes erecta
''Tagetes erecta'', the Aztec marigold, Mexican marigold, big marigold, ''cempazúchitl'' or ''cempasúchil'', is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Tagetes'' native to Mexico. Despite being native to the Americas, it is often called the ...
'', the Mexican marigold.
Name
The Latin specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''patula'' means “with a spreading habit”.
Description
''Tagetes patula'' is an annual
Annual may refer to:
* Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
** Literary annual
* Annual plant
* Annual report
* Annual giving
* Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
* Annuals (b ...
, 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
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...
(having both male and female organs) florets and are pollinate
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...
d primarily by beetles in the wild, as well as by tachinid flies and other insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean 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 j ...
. 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 of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditio ...
. It requires full sun to partial shade. Resists cold well to -1 °C ; from there it is sensitive to frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
and does not develop in the shade.
![French marigold garden 2009 G1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/French_marigold_garden_2009_G1.jpg)
Cultivation
This plant is valued for its velvet-textured, brightly coloured blooms in shades of yellow, orange and brown 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.
The plant is used in companion planting
Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, and ...
for many vegetable crops. Its root secretions are believed to kill nematode
The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...
s in the soil and it is said to repel harmful insects, such as white flies on tomatoes. Moreau et al 2006 attempted to protect ''Solanum tuberosum
The potato is a starch#Food, starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial plant, perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be fo ...
'' against ''Leptinotarsa decemlineata
The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about long, with a bright yellow/o ...
'' 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 be ...
, resulting in greater infestation and lower yields. (They also found the same for another purported repellent, ''Armoracia rusticana
Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwide as ...
''.)
Cultivars
Hundreds of cultivars have been developed, of which the following have gained the 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 (Nort ...
's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
:-
*'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'
Other uses
Medicinal
Medicinally, many cultures use infusions from dried leaves or florets. Research also suggests that T. patula essential oil has the ability to be used as residual pesticide
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
against bedbugs.
The essential oil is being investigated for antifungal activity, including treatment of candidiasis
Candidiasis is a fungal infection due to any type of '' Candida'' (a type of 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 mouth ...
and treating fungal infections in plants.
Culinary
The dried and ground flower petals constitute a popular spice in the Republic of Georgia
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
in the Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
, 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 munic ...
. The spice imparts a unique, rather earthy flavour to Georgian cuisine
Georgian cuisine () consists of cooking traditions, techniques, and practices of Georgia. Georgian cuisine has a distinct character, while bearing some similarities with various national cuisines of the Caucasus and the wider Eastern Europe. E ...
, 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, breakfa ...
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, s ...
. It is also a well-nigh essential ingredient in the spice mixture khmeli suneli
Khmeli suneli ( ka, ხმელი სუნელი, literally "dried spice") is a traditional Georgian spice mix. It typically contains ground coriander seed, celery seed, dried basil, dill, parsley, blue fenugreek, summer savory, bay leaf, m ...
, which is to Georgian cookery what garam masala
Garam masala Hindustani_language.html"_;"title="rom_Hindustani_language">Hindustani_/_(''garm_masala'',_"hot_spices")is_a_Spice_mix.html" ;"title="Hindustani language">Hindustani / (''garm masala'', "hot spices")">Hindustani_language.html" ;"tit ...
is to the cookery of North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
- with which Georgia shares elements of the Mughlai cuisine
Mughlai cuisine consists of dishes developed in the medieval Indo-Persian cultural centres of the Mughal Empire. It represents a combination of cuisine of the Indian subcontinent with the cooking styles and recipes of Central Asian and Islami ...
.[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 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 stains in ...
, 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 o ...
. The oil is used in perfumery
Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
. 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.
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