Cempasuchil, the flowers of the dead

These orange flowers known as cempasuchil, flowers for the dead, are found around October and November and many people take them to the cemetery on Day of the Dead or for as long as they are sold. By the way, cempasuchil is Nahualt and means flower of the dead. Have you ever seen these flowers before? What are they called in English?

photo courtesy of Esperanza Huerta

4 Responses to "Cempasuchil, the flowers of the dead"

nina says:
November 11, 2012 at 7:20 am
They look like Marigolds to me. Thanks for the great pics!
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1. Rudy says:
  November 11, 2012 at 12:35 pm
  Thanks Nina, check out the reply to Carole below.
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Carole Buschmann says:
November 11, 2012 at 11:29 am
I believe they are marigolds also. Aren’t they also taken to the cemeteries in Mexico and the American Southwest on The Day of the Dead?
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1. Rudy says:
  November 11, 2012 at 12:35 pm
  This is what I found on Wikipedia:
  Tagetes erecta, the Mexican marigold, also called Aztec marigold, is a species of the genus Tagetes native to Mexico and Central America. Despite its being native to the Americas, it is often called African marigold.[1][2] In Mexico, this plant is found in the wild in thestates of San Luis Potosí, Chiapas, State of México, Puebla, Sinaloa, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. This plant reaches heights of between 50–100 cm (20–39 in). The Aztecs gathered the wild plant as well as cultivating it for medicinal, ceremonial and decorative purposes. It is widely cultivated commercially with many cultivars in use as ornamental plants.
  … continue reading at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagetes_erecta
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Cempasuchil, the flowers of the dead

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