万寿菊种

现在万寿菊用来提炼食用色素E161b。

特征

万寿菊属菊科，一年生草花。全株株高约20至90公分。茎直立粗壮、多分枝；花瓣有单瓣和重瓣之分，花瓣具波浪状，且花色有白、黄至橙红各种色彩，色彩繁多；叶对生，羽状全裂；叶缘具腺点，会释放异味，故又称为“臭菊”。

栽培与用途

栽培：栽培土质不拘，但以排水良好之砂质壤土为佳，日照要充足。冬季落叶后或春季修剪整枝，老化的植株施以强剪，促使枝叶更茂盛。性喜高温多湿，生育适温约22﹣30摄氏度。

用途：耐旱、耐瘠、耐风、耐潮，枝叶青翠，适作盆景。

特殊用途：在墨西哥花瓣放在鸡饲料中供蛋鸡食用，蛋鸡产下的鸡蛋，蛋黄颜色会呈现金黄色，十分美丽，因此可以说是一种蛋黄着色剂。

Tagetes erecta, the Aztec marigold, Mexican marigold, big marigold, cempaxochitl or cempasúchil, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Tagetes native to Mexico and Central America. Despite being native to the Americas, it is often called the African marigold. In Mexico, this plant is found in the wild in the states of México, Michoacán, Puebla, Veracruz and Guerrero.

This plant reaches heights of between 20 and 90 cm (7.9 and 35.4 in). The Aztecs gathered the wild plant as well as cultivating it for medicinal, ceremonial and decorative purposes; it was introduced to Europe after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and colonization and became widely cultivated commercially with many cultivars in use as ornamental plants, and for the cut-flower trade.

Some authorities regard Tagetes patula (the French marigold) as a synonym of Tagetes erecta.

Names

The Spanish name cempazúchitl (or cempasúchil) comes from the Nahuatl cempohualxochitl ("twenty flower") – 20 (cempohualli) is the base of the Aztec vigesimal counting system, consequently a symbol of completion including in life reflected in measurements like their calendrical daycount. The English name marigold comes from their petals' arrangement resembling Calendula officinalis, also called "Mary's gold" or "marigold".

In Thai, it is called ดาวเรือง daao reuaang meaning "glittering star".

Description

It is a herbaceous annual or perennial plant whose height ranges from 30 to 110 cm. The root is cylindrical, pivoting, with a fibrous and shallow branching system. The stem is striated, sometimes ridged, smooth or slightly with villi, cylindrical, oval and herbaceous to slightly woody, with resin channels in the bark, which are aromatic when squeezed.

Distribution and habitat

Although native to Mexico, they are also found in the countries of Central America and the Caribbean: Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

In their wild form they are found in the Balsas basin and western Mexico and live in diverse types of ecosystems, such as tropical deciduous forests, thorny forests, cloud forests and pine-oak forests. In the wild, it is found as a getaway in heavily disturbed places at altitudes of 800–2300 m.

As an introduced species (cultivated) it can be found in China, India, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Australia.

History

The archaeological record of the use of Tagetes erecta among pre-Hispanic civilizations is not as abundant as in the case of other species of the same family. For example, it has been possible to establish the ceremonial use among the Mexica of T. lucida as an aromatic plant, which they called yauhtli, through the chemical analysis of the incense burners found in the remains of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City. The Nahuatl term cempoalxóchitl, was used to refer to several species of flowers, which includes T. erecta, T. lucida, T. patula, T. lunulata, T. tenuifolia, T. peduncularis and T. elongata.

Cultivation

It is widely cultivated and there are many cultivars used in gardening as an ornamental plant. The cultivar 'Inca Orange' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

In Mexico, it is used in the festivities of the Day of the Dead, to decorate altars and tombs; hence the name "flower of the dead". However, since antiquity it is also used for food and medicinal purposes.

Uses

Rituals

The meaning of the flower's name to the Aztecs makes the cempasúchil symbolic and used in the Día de Muertos celebration every 2 November in Mexico, it is also called the flor de muertos ("flower of the dead"). Water infused with its fragrant essential oil is used to wash corpses in Honduras, and the flower is still commonly planted in cemeteries.

Medicine

Since prehispanic times, this plant has been used for medicinal purposes. The Cherokee used it as a skin wash and for yellow dye.