Tagetes erecta (Aztec Marigold)

Tagetes erecta, Aztec Marigold, is indigenous from Mexico to Guatemala and naturalized in the rest of Central America and the western Andes of South America. It has been widely cultivated all over the world (including Africa and the Indian Ocean islands) as a popular garden ornamental.

In the Oaxaca region of Mexico the Zapotecs used Tagetes as a primary herb in purification rituals. The plant is popular with the Tarahumara Indians of Chihuahua and is used by the modern Huichol Indians in their religious rituals. The botanical genus name (Tagetes) is in reference to a Roman deity, Tages, who was originally an Etruscan god of prophecy.

In Honduras, a water extract of the plant was formerly used to wash corpses because of the strong fragrance of the essential oil. Hence the Spanish common name for Tagetes erecta used throughout Mexico and Central America, ‘flor de muerto’ (flower of the dead). The Portuguese name, ‘cravo de defuntos’, meaning carnation of the dead, has the same origin.

Today Tagetes erecta continues to be a strong smoking herb – especially when blended in equal amounts with Tagetes lucida, Mexican Tarragon, to make a super combination the Aztecs dubbed “Zempaxochitl.”

This product is not intended or sold for ingestion by humans or animals. It is sold only for use as an incense or for smoking. WARNING: Smoking anything, including herbal products of any kind, are harmful to the body.

These dried heads are for sale solely for their historical and ethnobotanical interest.