Mexican Marigold

I first heard of marigolds (as I'm sure many did) in a 1969 short story of the same name by Euginea Collier. The short story through its Great Depression bitterness made the marigolds out as shining example of hope among the dust. They are pretty flowers, the Mexican marigold is also known as the African marigold, for some reason. The Aztecs gathered the wild plant as well as cultivating it for medicinal, ceremonial and decorative purposes