Sweet-Scented Marigold – Tagetes lucida

Common Name: Sweet Mace, Sweet-Scented Marigold, Sweet-Scented Mexican Marigold

Botanical Name: Tagetes lucida, ta-GEE-teez LOO-si-da

Flower Color: Yellow

Availability: Year Round

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.

• 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.