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Tagetes minuta
Also called Southern Marigold, Stinking Roger, Mexican Marigold, Wild Marigold, Aztec Marigold, Dwarf Marigold, Khakibush
Tagetes minuta, a tall, upright annual marigold with small flowers, native to South America and now naturalized worldwide. It is grown mainly for its strongly scented leaves, used as a herb, and prized in the Andes as huacatay.
Tagetes minuta is a tall upright marigold type of plant from the genus Tagetes, with small flowers, native to the south western half of South America. Since Spanish colonization, it has been introduced around the world, and has become naturalized in Europe, Asia, Australasia, North America, and Africa. Tagetes minuta has numerous local names that vary by region. In the Andes it is known as Huacatay or Wacatay, and in other regions it is common as chinchilla, chiquilla, chilca, zuico, suico, or anisillo. Other names include Muster John Henry, southern marigold, khakibos, stinking roger, wild marigold, and black mint. It is called the Quechua terms huacatay in Peru or wakataya in Bolivia.
It is used as a culinary herb in Peru, Ecuador, and parts of Chile and Bolivia. It is commonly sold in Latin grocery stores in a bottled, paste format as black mint paste.
The oils contained in the oil glands that are found throughout the above ground portions of the plant may cause irritation to the skin and in some cases are said to cause photodermatitis.
Tagetes minuta has been eaten in various forms since pre-Columbian times. Dried leaves may be used as a seasoning and huacatay paste is used to make the popular Peruvian potato dish called ocopa. An herbal tea can be brewed from the leaves. An extraction of the plant, "Marigold oil", is used in the perfume, tobacco, and soft drink industry.
Tagetes epapposa · Aztec marigold · Sweetscented marigold · Tagetes mendocina · Tagetes oaxacana · French marigold · Signet Marigold · Marigold
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tagetes minuta by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
