''Zinnia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of plants of the tribe

Heliantheae The Heliantheae (sometimes called the sunflower tribe) are the third-largest tribe in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). With some 190 genera and nearly 2500 recognized species, only the tribes Senecioneae and Astereae are larger. The name is de ...

within 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 ...

. They are native to scrub and

dry grassland The key characteristic of dry grasslands is that they have low-growing plants, causing the area to be quite open. They also have a mottled structure, which leads to a biome with sunny or semi-shaded areas. On top of that, their soil is relatively ...

in an area stretching from the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, with a

centre of diversity A center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. They are also considered centers of diversity. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Ni ...

in Mexico. Members of the genus are notable for their solitary long-stemmed 12 petal flowers that come in a variety of bright colors. The genus name honors German master

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727–59).

Description

Zinnias are annuals, shrubs, and sub-shrubs native primarily to North America, with a few species in

. Most species have upright stems but some have a lax habit with spreading stems that mound over the surface of the ground. They typically range in height from 10 to 100 cm tall (4" to 40"). The leaves are opposite and usually stalkless (sessile), with a shape ranging from linear to ovate, and a color ranging from pale to medium green. Zinnia's composite flowers consist of ray florets that surround disk florets, which may be a different color than the ray florets and mature from the periphery inward. The flowers have a range of appearances, from a single row of petals to a dome shape. Zinnias may be white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple, or lilac.

Cultivation

Zinnias are easy to grow with potential heavy blooms that gush in color. Their petals can take different forms as single row with a visible center (Single-flowered zinnia), numerous rows with a center that is not visible (Double-flowered) and petals that are somewhere in-between with numerous rows but visible centers (Semi double-flowered zinnia). Their flowers can also take several shapes. Zinnias are an annual plant that preferably grows ''in situ'' from seed, as they dislike being transplanted. Much like daisies, zinnias prefer to have full sunlight and adequate water. In the preferred conditions they will grow quickly but are sensitive to frost and therefore will die after the first frost of autumn. Zinnias benefit from Deadheading_(flowers), deadheading to encourage further blooming.

Species

; Accepted species * ''Zinnia acerosa'' – Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah in the United States; Coahuila, Durango, Michoacán, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, and Zacatecas in Mexico. * ''Zinnia americana'' – Chiapas, Guerrero, Honduras, Jalisco, Michoacán, México State, Nayarit, Nicaragua, Oaxaca, and Veracruz. * ''Zinnia angustifolia'' – Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, and Sinaloa. * ''Zinnia anomala'' – Texas; Coahuila, and Nuevo León. * ''Zinnia bicolor'' – Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nayarit, and Sinaloa. * ''Zinnia citrea'' – Chihuahua, Coahuila, and San Luis Potosí. * ''Zinnia elegans'' from Jalisco to Paraguay; naturalized in parts of United States. * ''Zinnia flavicoma'' – Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, and Oaxaca. * ''Zinnia grandiflora'' – Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas; Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Sonora, and Tamaulipas. * ''Zinnia haageana'' – Guanajuato, Jalisco, México State, Michoacán, and Oaxaca. * ''Zinnia juniperifolia'' – Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. * ''Zinnia maritima'' – Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit, and Sinaloa. * ''Zinnia microglossa'' – Guanajuato and Jalisco. * ''Zinnia oligantha'' – Coahuila. * ''Zinnia palmeri'' – Colima, Jalisco * ''Zinnia pauciflora'' Phil. * ''Zinnia peruviana'' – widespread from Chihuahua to Paraguay including Galápagos and West Indies; naturalized in parts of China, South Africa, and the United States. * ''Zinnia pumila'' A.Gray * ''Zinnia purpusii'' – Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, and Puebla. * ''Zinnia tenuis'' – Chihuahua. * ''Zinnia venusta'' – Guerrero. * ''Zinnia zinnioides'' (Kunth) Olorode & Torres ; formerly included see ''Glossocardia Philactis'' * ''Zinnia bidens – Glossocardia bidens'' * ''Zinnia liebmannii – Philactis zinnioides'' ''Zinnia elegans'', also known as ''Zinnia violacea'', is the most familiar species, originally from the warm regions of Mexico being a warm–hot climate plant. Its leaves are lance-shaped and sandpapery in texture, and height ranges from 15 cm to 1 meter. ''Zinnia angustifolia'' is another Mexican species. It has a low bushy plant habit, linear foliage, and more delicate flowers than ''Z. elegans'' – usually single, and in shades of yellow, orange or white. It is also more resistant to powdery mildew than ''Z. elegans'', and hybrids between the two species have been raised which impart this resistance on plants intermediate in appearance between the two. The ''Profusion'' series, with both single and double-flowered components, is bred by Sakata of Japan, and is among the most well-known of this hybrid group. Zinnias seem to be a favorite of butterfly, butterflies as well as hummingbirds, and many gardeners add zinnias specifically to attract them. Hummingbird hawk-moth straw streched.JPG, ''Hummingbird hawk-moth 'Inachis io' 2.JPG, ''Aglais io'' 'Vanessa cardui' 1.JPG, ''Vanessa cardui'' 'Admiral - Vanessa atalanta' 01.JPG, ''Vanessa atalanta'' 'Aglais urticae' 6.JPG, ''Aglais urticae'' Monarch Butterfly Pink Zinnia 1800px.jpg, ''Monarch butterfly''

Uses

Zinnias are popular garden flowers because they come in a wide range of flower colors and shapes, and they can withstand hot summer temperatures and are easy to grow from seeds. They are grown in fertile, humus-rich, and well-drained soil, in an area with full sun. They will reseed themselves each year. Over 100 cultivars have been produced since selective breeding started in the 19th century. ''Zinnia peruviana'' was introduced to Europe in the early 1700s. Around 1790 ''Z''. ''elegans'' (''Zinnia violacea'') was introduced and those plants had a single row of ray florets, which were violet. In 1829, scarlet flowering plants were available under the name "Coccinea". Double flowering types were available in 1858, coming from India, and they were in a range of colors, including shades of reds, rose, purple, orange, buff, and rose stripped. In time, they came to represent ''thinking of absent friends'' in the language of flowers. A number of species of zinnia are popular flowering plants, and interspecific hybrids are becoming more common. Their varied habits allow for uses in several parts of a garden, and their tendency to attract butterflies and hummingbirds is seen as desirable. Commercially available seeds and plants are derived from open pollinated or F1 crosses, and the first commercial F1 hybrid dates from 1960. Some zinnia are edible.

Beyond earth

Experimentation aboard the International Space Station has demonstrated the capability of zinnias to grow and blossom in a weightless environment.

Companion plants

In the Americas their ability to attract hummingbirds is also seen as useful as a defense against whitefly, whiteflies, and therefore zinnias are a desirable companion plant, benefiting plants that are inter-cropping, inter-cropped with it. Zinnias are grown in the summertime and bloom all summer long.

Gallery

File:Zinnia acerosa flowers.jpg, ''Zinnia acerosa'' File:Zinnia-Bicolor.jpg, ''Zinnia bicolor'' File:Zinnia grandiflora 2.jpg, ''Zinnia grandiflora'' File:Starr 030202-0031 Zinnia peruviana.jpg, ''Zinnia peruviana'' File:Gol4tara.jpg, ''Zinnia elegans'' File:Zinnia angustifolia 'Pette Land White'2.jpg, ''Zinnia angustifolia'' File:Zinnia haageana 'Aztec Burgundy Bicolor' kz2.jpg, ''Zinnia haageana''

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q205106 Zinnia, Asteraceae genera Butterfly food plants Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus