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Tagetes erecta

Mērīkōro

African Marigold

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: African Marigold, Big Marigold, Aztec Marigold

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Mērīkōro (RR MK MT), Merīkōro (AT), Merīkō (AK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Mexico - Guatemala

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands, gardens

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental flowers

KEY FEATURES: Annual herb to 100m. STEMS few branched. LEAVES strongly scented; opposite, compound, pinnate; LEAFLETS slender, toothed, w glands. FLOWERS solitary, stalk 5-12cm gradually enlarging upwards, involucre bell-shaped with strong ribs; 'flower' to 10cmØ; DISC FLS many; RAY FLS few to numerous, yellow to orange.

SIMILAR SPECIES: French Marigold (Tagetes patula) is shorter, to 50cm (vs. to 100cm); flower-stalk NOT distinctly enlarging upwards (vs. distinctly enlarging upwards); 'flowers' smaller, to 5cmØ (vs. to 10cmØ); 'flowers' yellow, orange, red-brown, or bicoloured (vs. yellow or orange).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
		++++	+					-

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-			-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Tagetes erecta Linnaeus
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Asterales; ASTERACEAE. COMMENT: In the wild Tagetes erecta and Tagetes patula are very similar and are often combined under Tagetes erecta. In horticulture the two species are more distinct and are usually maintained as separate species.

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: The name Marigold comes from "Mary's-gold" an old name for Calendula officinalis. In Britain Marigold still refers to this species, while in America it usually refers to Tagetes species and hybrids.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.849 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.1095 Hortus 3rd
p.5/291 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

Data Update History (information):
zB02, zD04b

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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