What is the Day of the Dead flower?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

November 2, 2001

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The second of November is El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. It is a celebration in remembrance of those who are gone, a welcoming home for spirits, and thoughts of life and renewal. El Dia de los Muertos is an old tradition probably dating to the Olmecs and coming from a mindset that believes life is a dream and death brings one to full awakening. It is believed that at this time a passage opens between the world of the living and the paradise of the spirits. The spirits pass from the "region of silence and repose" to visit their loved ones.

Mexican Decorations for Day of the Dead Celebrations

Cempazuchitl petals are strewn from the graveside to the house,
the strong fragrance of the flowers helping to guide the spirits home.
Mexican Decorations for Day of the Dead Celebrations Photographic Print
Gina Martin Buy Photographic Print at AllPosters.com

The cultivation of the cempazuchitl [zem pa' zoo chee' tul] or Day of the Dead flower (Tagetes erecta Linnaeus) has gone on as long as there have been civilizations in Mexico. Cempazuchitl is a Nahuatl word meaning the flower with four hundred lives. This is possibly a reference to the large number of seeds produced in each flower head. The flowers are used lavishly to decorate graves and altars dedicated to the honor the dead. Cempazuchitl petals are strewn from the graveside to the house, the strong fragrance of the flowers helping to guide the spirits home.

Flowers Grown for the Day of the Dead, Oaxaca, Mexico, North America Photographic Print by Robert Harding
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But cempazuchitl has other uses. It was carried when crossing rivers to protect one from drowning. Different infusions of the flowers were used to treat stomach complaints and diarrhea. Strong infusions were used to kill intestinal parasites. The pigments in the petals are used as dyes. Long before modern gardening, the Native Americans used cempazuchitl in companion plantings to keep insect pests at bay.

Modern chicken farming has led to a new use for the cempazuchitl. A meal made from the flowers is added to chicken feed. The lutein (esters of xanthophyll) makes egg yolks and the skin of broiler chickens more appealing to consumers.

Auburn University's College of Agriculture has a plant identification site. To view a photograph of a modern cultivar of the cempazuchitl, click on the link:

Click here to view a photograph

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Comments: Seeds may be sown outside where plants are to grow after all danger of frost has passed or sow indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost date. Use sterile seed starting medium and maintain the temperature at 70-75 degrees F. African marigolds (erecta) should be started 8-10 weeks before setting out. Plant in average soil with good drainage. Keep faded flowers picked for continual bloom and to induce bushiness. Comments If they are sown before the end of March, they can flower in 60 days. Great heat resistance. Pinch off dead heads to encourage reblooming. Among the largest flowering marigolds. Fully double flowers.