Tagetes

Description

Tagetes species vary in size from 0.1 to 2.2 m tall. Most species have pinnate green leaves. Blooms naturally occur in golden, orange, yellow, and white colors, often with maroon highlights. Flower heads are typically (1-) to 4–6 cm diameter, generally with both ray florets and disc florets. In horticulture, they tend to be planted as annuals, although the perennial species are gaining popularity. Like all marigolds, they have a fibrous root system.

Depending on the species, Tagetes species grow well in almost any sort of soil. Most horticultural selections grow best in soil with good drainage, and some cultivars are known to have good tolerance to drought.

Nomenclature

The Latin Tagētes terrestis derives from the Tages in Etruscan mythology, born from plowing the earth. It likely refers to the ease with which plants of this genus come out each year either by the seeds produced in the previous year, or by the stems which regrow from the stump already in place.

The common name in English, marigold, is derived from Mary's gold in honor of the Virgin Mary, a name first applied to a similar plant native to Europe, Calendula officinalis.

The most commonly cultivated varieties of Tagetes are known variously as African marigolds (usually referring to cultivars and hybrids of Tagetes erecta), or French marigolds (usually referring to hybrids and cultivars of Tagetes patula, many of which were developed in France). The so-called signet marigolds are hybrids derived mostly from Tagetes tenuifolia.

Cultivation and uses

Depending on the species, marigold foliage has a musky, pungent scent, though some varieties have been bred to be scentless. Due to antibacterial thiophenes exuded by the roots, Tagetes should not be planted near any legume crop. Some of the perennial species are deer-, rabbit-, rodent- and javelina or peccary-resistant.

T. minuta (khakibush or huacatay), originally from South America, has been used as a source of essential oil for the perfume industry known as tagette or "marigold oil", and as a flavourant in the food and tobacco industries. It is commonly cultivated in South Africa, where the species is also a useful pioneer plant in the reclamation of disturbed land.

The florets of Tagetes erecta are rich in the orange-yellow carotenoid lutein and are used as a food colour (INS number E161b) in the European Union for foods such as pasta, vegetable oil, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressing, baked goods, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, yogurt, citrus juice and mustard. In the United States, however, the powders and extracts are only approved as colorants in animal feed.

Marigolds are recorded as a food plant for some Lepidoptera caterpillars including the dot moth, and a nectar source for other butterflies and bumblebees. They are often part of butterfly gardening plantings. In the wild, many species are pollinated by beetles.

Cultural significance

''Tagetes lucida''

The species Tagetes lucida, known as pericón, is used to prepare a sweetish, anise-flavored medicinal tea in Mexico. It is also used as a culinary herb in many warm climates, as a substitute for tarragon, and offered in the nursery as "Texas tarragon" or "Mexican mint marigold".

''Tagetes minuta''

Tagetes minuta, native to southern South America, is a tall, upright marigold plant with small flowers used as a culinary herb in Peru, Ecuador, and parts of Chile and Bolivia, where it is called by the Incan term huacatay. The paste is used to make the popular potato dish called ocopa. Having both "green" and "yellow/orange" notes, the taste and odor of fresh T. minuta is like a mixture of sweet basil, tarragon, mint and citrus. It is also used as a medicinal tea for gastrointestinal complaints and specifically against nematodes.Soule, J. A. 1993. Tagetes minuta: A Potential New Herb from South America. Pgs. 649-654 in New Crops, Proceedings of the New Crops Conference 1993, Eds. J. Janick & J. E. Simon.

''Tagetes erecta''

Tagetes erecta is widely used in Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico.

''Tagetes'' – various species

In Ukraine, chornobryvtsi (T. erecta, T. patula and the signet marigold, l. tenuifolia) are regarded as one of the national symbols, and are often mentioned in songs, poems and tales.

Species

; Accepted species

• Tagetes apetala
• Tagetes arenicola
• Tagetes argentina Cabrera
• Tagetes biflora Cabrera
• Tagetes campanulata Griseb.
• Tagetes coronopifolia
• Tagetes daucoides
• Tagetes elliptica Sm.
• Tagetes elongata
• Tagetes epapposa
• Tagetes erecta L. – African marigold, Aztec marigold
• Tagetes filifolia Lag.
• Tagetes foetidissima DC.
• Tagetes hartwegii
• Tagetes hartwegii Greenm.
• Tagetes iltisiana Rydb.
• Tagetes inclusa
• Tagetes lacera
• Tagetes laxa Cabrera
• Tagetes lemmonii A.Gray – Mt. Lemmon marigold, Mexican marigold
• Tagetes linifolia
• Tagetes lucida Cav. – Mexican mint marigold, Texas tarragon
• Tagetes lunulata
• Tagetes mandonii
• Tagetes mendocina Phil.
• Tagetes micrantha Cav. – licorice marigold
• Tagetes microglossa
• Tagetes minima
• Tagetes minuta L. – wild marigold
• Tagetes moorei
• Tagetes mulleri S.F.Blake
• Tagetes multiflora Kunth
• Tagetes nelsonii Greenm.
• Tagetes oaxacana
• Tagetes osteni
• Tagetes palmeri
• Tagetes parryi A.Gray
• Tagetes patula L. – French marigold
• Tagetes perezii Cabrera
• Tagetes praetermissa
• Tagetes pringlei S.Watson
• Tagetes pusilla
• Tagetes riojana M.Ferraro
• Tagetes rupestris Cabrera
• Tagetes stenophylla B.L.Rob.
• Tagetes subulata Cerv.
• Tagetes subvillosa
• Tagetes tenuifolia Cav. – signet marigold
• Tagetes terniflora Kunth
• Tagetes triradiata
• Tagetes verticillata Lag. & Rodr.
• Tagetes zypaquirensis Humb. & Bonpl. }}

Gallery

File:Marigold.jpg|Yellow marigold File:Marigold 2.jpg|A marigold flower head File:Red_Marigold.jpg|Tagetes patula (hybrid marigold) Tagetes-DSCN2062.JPG|Tagetes patula File:Tagetes Erecta-Flower 04.jpg|Tagetes erecta flower head File:Tagetes Erecta-Flower 02.jpg|Tagetes erecta flower head File:Tagetes-Marigold-Flower 08.jpg|Tagetes flower heads File:Newly grown marigold (tagetes) plants.jpg|Newly grown plants (West Bengal, India). File:Marigoldjf.JPG|'Maxima Yellow' (Philippines) File:Marigold at lingaraj temple.jpg|Marigold varieties prepared as offerings to a god during the Hindu festival of Maha Shivaratri File:Flor de ofrenda.JPG|Marigold on an altar in Mexico File:Marigold flowers. Eastern Siberia.png|Flowering marigold plants (Eastern Siberia)

References

References

1. (2011-01-06). "Genus: ''Tagetes'' L.". United States Department of Agriculture.
2. "Tagetes L. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science".
3. Soule, 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.
4. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358908#page/329/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 887] in Latin
5. "Tropicos | Name - !Tagetes L.".
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8. Everett, Thomas H.. (1982). "The New York Botanical Garden illustrated encyclopedia of horticulture". Taylor & Francis.
9. Filippi, Olivier. (2007). "Pour un jardin sans arrosage (For a garden without irrigation)". Actes Sud.
10. Julio Perez. (October 26, 2023). "Marigolds: Blooms of Cultural Significance".
11. Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.. "Marigolds: Mary's Gold".
12. "All About Marigolds".
13. Soule, J. A. 1993. Biosystematics of ''Tagetes'' (Compositae). Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas.
14. (2022-09-02). "Crop Rotation with Marigold Promotes Soil Bacterial Structure to Assist in Mitigating Clubroot Incidence in Chinese Cabbage". Plants.
15. "Mexican Mint Marigold".
16. (1 December 1994). "Insecticidal Activity of Floral, Foliar, and Root Extracts of Tagetes minuta (Asterales: Asteraceae) Against Adult Mexican Bean Weevils (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)". Journal of Economic Entomology.
17. "Cuál es el origen y significado de la flor de cempasúchil, la reina de los altares de muertos en México". BBC News Mundo.
18. "ВНЗ Національна Академія Управління - Symbols and Markings".
19. Soule, J. A. 1996. "Novel Annual and Perennial Tagetes". Pp. 546–551 in Progress in New Crops, ''Proceedings of the National New Crops Conference 1996'', Ed. J. Janick.
20. "Tagetes L. at WFO Plant List {{!}} World Flora Online".
21. "Plants Profile for Tagetes lemmonii (Lemmon's marigold)".