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Common Name: French Marigold

General Information

Tagetes patula is an annual plant that can grow up to 0.50 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Southern N. America - Mexico.

Habitat

The pine-oak forest zone[]. Naturalized in California where it grows on waste ground[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.50 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a well-drained moderately fertile soil in a sunny position[]. Grows well in heavy clay soils and in sandy soils[].
A very ornamental plant[], there are many named varieties[].
This species is closely related to T. erecta and is included in that species by some botanists[]. The main difference is that T. patula is a tetraploid plant (2n = 48) with smaller involucres and wholly or partially red-brown corollas[].
A good butterfly plant[].
Removing dead flowers before the seed is formed will extend the flowering season[].
The bruised leaves emit a refreshing pungent smell[].
Plants are prone to slugs, snails and botrytis[].
The French marigold is often used as a companion plant, especially for growing amongst tomatoes and potatoes where it helps to repel pests[]. See 'Other uses' below for more details.

Edible Uses

The flowers are used in refreshing drinks[, ].
The leaves are used as a food flavouring[, ]. No further details are given.
The essential oil is used as a food flavouring, though it is inferior to the oil obtained from T. minuta[].
The dried flowers are an adulterant of saffron(Crocus sativus), used for colouring foods yellow[, ].

Medicinal

The whole herb is aromatic, digestive, diuretic and sedative[]. It is used internally in the treatment of indigestion, colic, severe constipation[], coughs and dysentery[]. Externally, it is used to treat sore eyes and rheumatism[]. The leaves are harvested as required for immediate use during the growing season, whilst the flowering plant can be dried and stored for later use[].

Other Uses

Secretions from the roots of growing plants have an insecticidal effect on the soil, effective against nematodes and to some extent against keeled slugs[, , , ]. These secretions are produced about 3 - 4 months after sowing[].
The whole plant is harvested when in flower and distilled for its essential oil[, ].The oil is used in perfumery, it is blended with sandalwood oil to produce 'attar genda' perfume[]. About 35 kilos of oil can be extracted from 1 hectare of the plant (yielding 2,500 kilos of flowers and 25,000 kilos of herbage)[].
The whole plant contains substances that are toxic to cockroaches[].
The growing plant repels whitefly and can be grown near tomatoes to keep that crop free of the insect[, ].
A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers[]. It is used to colour foods and textiles[]. The flowers are sometimes used as an adulterant of saffron (obtained from Crocus sativus)[].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. Only just cover the seed. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts.