Leaf
Aathavan jaffna, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Common zinnia
Zinnia elegans Jacq.
Also known as: Zinnia, Youth-and-old-age
Family: Asteraceae
30 cm to 1 m tall
Grown in sunny borders and edging, rich soils
Flowering: June – October
Full sun
Not hardy, annual plant sown every year, sensitive to the slightest frost
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Zinnia is one of the few flowers to have been grown in space: zinnias flowered aboard the International Space Station in 2016, a first for a flowering plant in orbit.
🍃 Leaves
Ovate, opposite, slightly rough, clasping the stem
🌸 Flowers
Large flower head in bright colours (red, pink, orange, yellow, white), ray florets arranged in regular rows
🍎 Fruits
Flat achene
🪵 Bark
Upright, branched herbaceous stem
🗺️ Distribution
Native to Mexico; very widely grown in France as an annual bedding flower
🐝 Value for pollinators
Large colourful flower heads very attractive to butterflies and bees
✂️ Horticultural uses
Annual bedding plant in bright colours, very free-flowering all summer, excellent cut flower
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity
🌿 Other Asteraceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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