Copper Canyon Daisy

Among the scented plants in our Ray Charles Live Oak Sensory Garden is a species that puts on a great show in our cooler months.

Copper Canyon Daisy  (Tagetes lemmonii) is also known as Mountain Marigold or Mt. Lemmon Marigold. This species comes to us from the North American southwest and can be found growing in canyons in the Arizona Sonoran Desert and also in northern Mexico. This spreading shrub flourishes in sunny spots and likes to sprawl in every direction.

Each flower is quite simple, but Copper Canyon Daisy blooms a carpet of yellow blossoms and can be a real eye-catcher in the garden. On warmer days, these flowers are often attended by scads of pollinators. When the foliage of this daisy is brushed against, it gives off a citrus-like scent.

What's in a Name?

The genus name, Tagetes was named by Carl Linnaeus for the Etruscan prophet Tages.

The specific epithet Lemmonii actually does not refer to the lemon-like smell of this plant's foliage but rather references a husband and wife team John Gill and Sara Lemmon. This couple met over a shared love of botany and after their marriage in 1881 they headed to Arizona for a 'botany wedding trip'. Oh, how the romantic botanist in me is tickled by the concept. When the collected specimens from the trip were received and cataloged at Harvard, renowned botanist Asa Grey names this species after the Lemmons.

In yet another connection to the trees of our Historic Tree Grove, John Gill Lemmon was a civil war soldier who was captured at imprisoned at Andersonville.