Botanical Name: Tagetes Grandulifera

Origin: France

Known in Africa as 'Khaki Bush', it is now also grown in France and North America and is a weed with deeply divided deep-green feathery leaves and numerous yellowish-orange carnation-like flowers. The leaves and flowers are a good insect repellent and are often seen hanging from native huts to deter swarms of flies and mosquitoes.

After the Boer war in South Africa, Australian troops brought plants to their native land where it grew profusely. It is an ingredient of many foot treatment preparations and is also used in some perfumes.

The therapeutic properties of Marigold Tagetes essential oil are anti-infectious, anti-microbial, antibiotic, anti-spasmodic, anti-parasitic, antiseptic, insecticide and sedative. Tagetes oil is valuable in keeping insects at bay, and can help with parasitic and fungal infestation. It is used for chest infections, coughs and catarrh, dilating the bronchi, facilitating the flow of mucus and dislodging congestion and can be used in cases of skin infections. It has a healing effect on wounds, cuts, calluses, blisters and bunions.