Wild Zinnia flower and Plant
Zinnia is a genus of plants of the sunflower tribe within the daisy family. They are native to scrub and dry grassland in an area stretching from the Southwestern United States to South America, with a centre of diversity in Mexico. Members of the genus are notable for their solitary long-stemmed flowers that come in a variety of bright colors. The genus name honors German master botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727–59).
Zinnias are annuals, shrubs, and sub-shrubs native primarily to North America, with a few species in South America.:338- Most species have upright stems but some have a lax habit with spreading stems that mound over the surface of the ground. They typically range in height from 10 to 100 cm tall (4″ to 40″).[8] The leaves are opposite and usually stalkless (sessile), with a shape ranging from linear to ovate, and a color ranging from pale to medium green. The flowers have a range of appearances, from a single row of petals to a dome shape. Zinnias may be white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple, or lilac.
Species…
accepted species
Zinnia acerosa – Utah Arizona New Mexico Texas Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Zacatecas, Sonora
Zinnia americana – Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, México State, Nayarit, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
Zinnia angustifolia – Jalisco, Durango, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí
Zinnia anomala – Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León
Zinnia bicolor – Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Sinaloa
Zinnia citrea – Chihuahua, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí
Zinnia elegans from Jalisco to Paraguay; naturalized in parts of United States
Zinnia flavicoma – Michoacán, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Jalisco
Zinnia grandiflora – Arizona New Mexico Texas Oklahoma Kansas Colorado Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora
Zinnia haageana – Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, México State, Oaxaca
Zinnia juniperifolia – Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila
Zinnia maritima – Guerrero, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit, Sinaloa
Zinnia microglossa – Guanajuato, Jalisco
Zinnia oligantha – Coahuila
Zinnia palmeri – Colima, Jalisco
Zinnia pauciflora Phil.
Zinnia peruviana – widespread from Chihuahua to Paraguay including Galápagos and West Indies; naturalized in parts of China, South Africa, United States
Zinnia pumila A.Gray
Zinnia purpusii – Chiapas, Guerrero, Colima, Jalisco, Puebla
Zinnia tenuis – Chihuahua
Zinnia venusta – Guerrero
Zinnia zinnioides (Kunth) Olorode & Torres
formerly included
see Glossocardia Philactis
Zinnia bidens – Glossocardia bidens
Zinnia liebmannii – Philactis zinnioides
Zinnia elegans, also known as Zinnia violacea, is the most familiar species, originally from the warm regions of Mexico being a warm–hot climate plant. Its leaves are lance-shaped and sandpapery in texture, and height ranges from 15 cm to 1 meter.
Zinnia angustifolia is another Mexican species. It has a low bushy plant habit, linear foliage, and more delicate flowers than Z. elegans – usually single, and in shades of yellow, orange or white. It is also more resistant to powdery mildew than Z. elegans, and hybrids between the two species have been raised which impart this resistance on plants intermediate in appearance between the two. The Profusion series, with both single and double-flowered components, is bred by Sakata of Japan, and is among the most well-known of this hybrid group.
Zinnias seem to be a favorite of butterflies, and many gardeners add zinnias specifically to attract them.
Zinnias are popular garden flowers because they come in a wide range of flower colors and shapes, and they can withstand hot summer temperatures, and are easy to grow from seeds.[13] They are grown in fertile, humus-rich, and well-drained soil, in an area with full sun. They will reseed themselves each year. Over 100 cultivars have been produced since selective breeding started in the 19th century.
Zinnia peruviana was introduced to Europe in the early 1700s. Around 1790 Z. elegans (Zinnia violacea) was introduced and those plants had a single row of ray florets which were violet. In 1829, scarlet flowering plants were available under the name ‘Coccinea’. Double flowering types were available in 1858, coming from India, and they were in a range of colors including shades of reds, rose, purple, orange, buff, and rose stripped.:338- In
time, they came to represent thinking of absent friends in the language of flowers.
A number of species of zinnia are popular flowering plants, and interspecific hybrids are becoming more common.:344- Their varied habits allow for uses in several parts of a garden, and their tendency to attract butterflies and hummingbirds is seen as desirable. Commercially available seeds and plants are derived from open pollinated or F1 crosses, and the first commercial F1 hybrid dates from 1960.