Perennials, subshrubs, or shrubs 10-50(-100+) cm. Leaf blades 50-70(-120+) mm overall, lobes or leaflets (3-)5-7+, lance-elliptic to lanceolate, 15-30(-45) × 3-7(-10+) mm. Heads in ± corymbiform arrays. Peduncles 10-50 mm. Involucres 8-10 × 5-7 mm. Ray florets (3-)5-8+; laminae yellow, ± oblong, 9-15+ mm. Disc florets 12-30+; corollas 6-7 mm. Cypselae 5-6 mm; pappi of 0-5 lanceolate- to subulate-aristate scales 2.5-3+ mm plus 5+ lanceolate to oblong, ± erose scales 0.5-1 mm, distinct or connate, linear-oblong, ± erose scales 2-6+ mm. 2n = 24.

Flowering (Aug-)Sep-Nov. Moist sites, grasslands, scrublands, woodlands, cliffs, streamsides; 1400-2500 m; Ariz.; Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora).

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Subshrub

General: Subshrubs, perennials, to 100 cm tall or more tall, herbage very ill-scented.

Leaves: Opposite, the upper ones sometimes alternate, with 3-7 lanceolate divisions, these 4-12 mm wide, gland-dotted.

Flowers: Heads large, radiate, rays yellow, 5-8 or more, laminae oblong, to 15 mm long, pistillate, disk flowers 12-30 or more, perfect, involucres cylindric, 8-10 mm high, phyllaries narrow, united near the apex, naked near the base, heads solitary or at branch tips in leafy cymes.

Fruits: Achenes slender, angled or flattened, 5-6 mm long. Pappus of 0-5 lanceolate to awl-shaped, awned scales, 2.5-3 mm long, plus 5+ lanceolate to oblong, erose scales, 0.5-1 mm long, these distinct or connate.

Ecology: Found on rich, moist soils, in canyons, from 4,000-8,000 ft (1219-2438 m); flowering August-November.

Distribution: Arizona; Mexico.

Notes: Look to the marigold smelling herbage and large yellow rays to help identify this species.

Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genera have uses.

Etymology: Tagetes is named after the Etruscan god Tages, while lemmonii is probably named for John Gil Lemmon (1832-1908) and his wife Sara Plummer Lemmon (1836-1923) who collected plants for Asa Gray all across the west.

Synonyms: None

Editor: LCrumbacher 2011