Sweet Mace


1 entry found.
Picture of Sweet Mace Sweet Mace
Common Name: Sweet Mace, Sweet-Scented Marigold, Sweet-Scented Mexican Marigold
Botanical Name: Tagetes lucida (ta-GEE-teez LOO-si-da)
Decorative Life:
Post Harvest Care:
  • Remove bottom leaves if present, recut stems under water and place into a fresh flower food solution.
Family Roots:
  • Member of the Asteraceae or Compositae (aster family).
  • Native to Mexico and Guatemala.
  • Some common relatives include chrysanthemum, dahlia, aster, zinnia, lettuce, sunflower and dandelion.
Personality:
  • Has small, single flower heads with one row of ray petals around the central disk.
  • Stems leafy, up to 24 inches long.
  • Plant is a tender herbaceous perennial, classed as a dicotyledon, leaves not parallel veined.
  • Leaves have spicy anise scent but flowers are not fragrant.
Availability: Year-round.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Storage Specifics: Reported to be chill sensitive yet can be stored at 34-38F. As with gerbera, it might be just the few degrees above 32F that can cause chill damage.
Tidbits:
  • Named for Tages, an Etruscan deity, the grandson of Jupiter, who sprang from the ploughed earth.
  • Used in cooking as a substitute for tarragon or fennel and adds the flavor of licorice or anise.
  • The Compositae or aster family is vast, with over 20,000 species, and is also one of the most developed families. It was named Compositae because the flowers are actually a "composite" of many individual flowers into one head. Hence, when children pull one "petal" off at a time, saying "she/he loves me, loves me not", they are actually removing a complete flower, not just a petal.
  • The specific epithet name "lucida" means bright, shinny, clear.
  • According to Creasy (1999), fresh petals are edible. Can be used in deviled eggs and butter and sprinkled over broccoli and other strong flavored vegetables.