'Pericón' Marigold

Tagetes lucida Origin: Mexico & Central America Improvement status: Cultivated wild material Seeds per packet: ~45 Germination tested 10/2024: 92% Life cycle: Perennial (Zones 8-11) or Annual We're really excited to be offering this plant for the first time (thanks to these seeds from our friends at Wild Garden Seeds in Oregon, who got their initial seed stock from more friends at Grand Prismatic Seeds in Utah). 'Pericón' is a type of marigold with a long history of use as food, dye, medicine, and instrument of shamanic practice (thanks to its mildly hallucinogenic, dream-enhancing, and mind-focusing qualities). Also called Yautli, in Nahuatl (the Aztec language), which means "dark one," and Hierba de Nube, in Spanish, meaning "herb of clouds." Marigolds like this have a long association with Mexican Day of the Dead ceremonies, when they are laid out in abundance as offerings. For this reason, the flower is perhaps most commonly known as "flores del muerto", or "flowers of the dea