What is the difference between marigold and French marigold?
Marigold and French marigold are both plants of the genus Tagetes in the aster family (Asteraceae). They look very similar. Marigold is also called stinking marigold, wanshou lamp, honeycomb chrysanthemum, stinking chrysanthemum, scorpion chrysanthemum, golden chrysanthemum, etc. French marigold is also called small marigold, red-yellow grass, xifan chrysanthemum, stinking chrysanthemum, satin flower, etc. People are always unable to tell French marigold and marigold apart. Today, the editor will introduce to you the differences between French marigold and marigold.
Marigold
Marigold is an annual herbaceous plant, 50-150 cm tall, with an upright, stout stem that has fine longitudinal ridges, and branches spreading upward horizontally. The leaves are pinnately divided, 5-10 cm long and 4-8 cm wide; the lobes are oblong or lanceolate, with sharply serrate margins; the tooth tips of the upper leaf lobes have long slender awns, and there are a few glands along the leaf margin.
Marigold has solitary flower heads, 5-8 cm in diameter; the top of the peduncle is club-shaped and swollen; the involucre is 1.8-2 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide, cup-shaped, with toothed tips at the apex; the ray florets are yellow or dark orange, 2.9 cm long, with obovate ligules 1.4 cm long and 1.2 cm wide, narrowed at the base into a long claw, slightly emarginate at the apex; the disk florets have a yellow corolla about 9 mm long, with 5 teeth at the apex.
The achene of marigold is linear, narrowed at the base, black or brown, 8-11 mm long, covered with short fine hairs; the pappus has 1-2 long awns and 2-3 short blunt scales. The flowering period is July-September.
French marigold
French marigold is an annual herbaceous plant, 30-100 cm tall, with an upright stem that usually branches near the base, and the branches spread obliquely. The leaves are pinnately divided, 2-9 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide; the lobes are linear-lanceolate, with serrate margins; the tooth tips often have long slender awns, and there is usually 1 gland at the base of the teeth.
French marigold has solitary flower heads, 3.5-4 cm in diameter; the peduncle is 5-6.5 cm long and slightly thickened at the top; the involucre is 1.5 cm long and 0.7 cm wide, oblong, with sharp teeth at the upper end and glandular dots; the ray florets are golden yellow or orange with red spots, the ligules are nearly circular, 8-10 mm long and 6-7 mm wide, slightly concave at the apex; the disk florets have a yellow corolla 10-14 mm long, equal in length to the pappus, with 5 teeth.
The achene of French marigold is linear, narrowed at the base, 8-12 mm long, black, covered with short soft hairs; the pappus is scale-like, of which 1-2 are long awn-like and 2-3 are short and blunt. The flowering period is July-September.
Differences between French marigold and marigold
1. Both French marigold and marigold have a special foul odor, and their scent is the same. This is also why people call them “stinking marigold” or “stinking chrysanthemum.”
2. The flower colors are similar, but the differences are obvious: the flower size differs greatly, and this is exactly the biggest difference between marigold and French marigold: marigold flowers are relatively larger, 6-8 cm in diameter, while French marigold flowers are relatively smaller, about 3-5 cm in diameter.
3. The leaf shapes are similar. The leaves of both are pinnately divided. The difference in leaf size is: marigold leaves are 5-10 cm long and 4-8 cm wide, while French marigold leaves are 2.5-5 cm long.
4. Both French marigold and marigold have relatively long flowering periods, and the flowering periods are the same: from June to the end of October, they bloom continuously.
5. French marigold and marigold both have neat plant shapes and are excellent materials for potted plants or flowerbed arrangements. The main difference is that marigold has a smaller branching angle, and its plant shape is more upright and relatively taller, while French marigold is relatively shorter and more rounded.