Wild marigold is a tall, strong-scented weedy cousin of garden marigolds, with tiny tubular flower heads instead of showy blooms. Native to South America, it has been introduced to scattered parts of the United States, mostly in the East and Southeast plus California. It's also called Muster John Henry, and in the Andes it's the cooking herb huacatay.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Usually 2–6 ft (0.6–2 m) tall. Oil glands all over the plant give it a heavy scent that some find pleasant, like licorice, fruit, or resin, and others find rank.
- Growth form
- An upright, hairless annual with a stout taproot and many short branches.
- Leaves
- Leaves are divided like a feather into narrow, toothed leaflets dotted with see-through oil glands.
- Flowers
- Flower heads are narrow tubes about 3/8 in (8–12 mm) long, packed into flat-topped clusters. Each head has only one to three small pale yellow , about 1/16 in (1–3 mm) long.
- Flowering time
- September–October in the US
- Fruit
- Seeds are dark brown, slender, and about 1/4 in (5.5–7 mm) long, topped with short scales.
Look-alikes
| Flower heads | Rays | Where you see it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild marigold | Tiny, slim tubes | 1–3, about 1/16 in | Roadsides, waste ground |
| French marigold | Large, velvety | Many; yellow, orange, russet | Garden beds |
| Mexican marigold | Large, full, rounded | Many, densely packed | Gardens, cut flowers |
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- roadsides
- fields
- waste areas
- Range
- Native to the southwestern half of South America, now on every inhabited continent. In the US it has been recorded in California and in the East from Florida north to Massachusetts; in New England it turns up only occasionally.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows in disturbed, open ground such as roadsides, old fields, and vacant lots.
- Flowering
Flowers Sep–Oct
Flowers Sep–Oct
Cautions
- Cautions
- Oils in the plant can irritate skin and sometimes cause a rash after sun exposure.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- In Peru, Ecuador, and parts of Bolivia and Chile the leaves are used as a cooking herb. Huacatay paste flavors the Peruvian sauce ocopa.
- Oil distilled from the plant is used in perfumes and as a flavoring in soft drinks and tobacco.
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