What does tagetes mean?
Tagetes is a botanical noun naming a genus of aromatic, often brightly colored flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The genus includes species widely known as marigolds, most notably Tagetes erecta, the Mexican or African marigold, and Tagetes patula, the French marigold. These plants are popular in gardens for their vivid flowers, distinctive scents, relative resistance to pests, and usefulness in companion planting. Tagetes minuta, commonly called Mexican tarragon, is also valued for its strongly scented leaves. In botanical writing, Tagetes refers collectively to the genus and is normally capitalized and italicized, while individual species are identified by a second italicized name, as in Tagetes erecta. The word is primarily encountered in scientific, horticultural, and gardening contexts; it is not a general synonym for every plant called a marigold, because some plants bearing that common name belong to other genera, such as Calendula. Knowing Tagetes therefore provides both the formal classification of familiar marigolds and a more precise name for identifying them.
nounTagetes is a genus of aromatic flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. Its members include several species commonly known as marigolds, especially Tagetes erecta and Tagetes patula.
- A genus of aromatic flowering plants in the daisy family, including species commonly known as marigolds.
"Tagetes erecta brightened the garden with its orange and yellow flowers."
"Tagetes patula is widely cultivated as an ornamental annual."
"The botanist noted that several Tagetes had naturalized along the field's edge."
The form is unchanged in the plural; in scientific writing it remains capitalized and is normally italicized.
"The nursery displayed several Tagetes in full bloom."
One of the garden's most familiar flowers hides behind a mouthful of a name: Tagetes, the botanical home of the marigold.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tagetes come from?
Tagetes is a Latinized form of ancient Greek Ταγέτης (Tagétēs), the name of a mythological figure. The botanist Carl Linnaeus adopted Tagetes as the genus name in his 1753 publication Species Plantarum. The precise allusion behind the botanical name is not securely documented, so the classical mythological name is its most certain recorded origin.
How tagetes is actually used
As a scientific genus name, Tagetes is normally capitalized and italicized. Outside formal botanical usage, it may be treated as an ordinary noun and written in lowercase.