species in South America.[6]:338- Most species have upright stems but some have a lax habit with spreading stems that mound over the surface of the ground. They typically range in height from 10 to 100 cm tall (4" to 40").[7] The leaves are opposite and usually stalkless (sessile), with a shape ranging from linear to ovate, and a color ranging from pale to medium green. The flowers have a range of appearances, from a single row of petals to a dome shape. Zinnias may be white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple, or lilac.[5]
Cultivation[edit]
Zinnias are easy to grow with potentially heavy blooms that gush in color. Their petals can take different forms as single row with a visible center (Single-flowered zinnia), numerous rows with a center that is not visible (Double-flowered) and petals that are somewhere in-between with numerous rows but visible centers (Semidouble-flowered zinnia). Their flowers can also take several shapes.
Zinnias are an annual plant that preferably grows in situ from seed, as they dislike being transplanted. Much like daisies, zinnias prefer to have full sunlight and adequate water. In the preferred conditions they will grow quickly but are sensitive to frost and therefore will die after the first frost of autumn. Zinnias benefit from deadheading to encourage further blooming.
Species[edit]
accepted species[1][8][9]
Zinnia acerosa – Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah in the United States; Coahuila, Durango, Michoacán, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, and Zacatecas in Mexico.
Zinnia americana – Chiapas, Guerrero, Honduras, Jalisco, Michoacán, México State, Nayarit, Nicaragua, Oaxaca, and Veracruz.
Zinnia angustifolia – Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, and Sinaloa.
Zinnia anomala – Texas; Coahuila, and Nuevo León.
Zinnia bicolor – Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nayarit, and Sinaloa.
Zinnia citrea – Chihuahua, Coahuila, and San Luis Potosí.
Zinnia elegans from Jalisco to Paraguay; naturalized in parts of United States.
Zinnia flavicoma – Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, and Oaxaca.
Zinnia grandiflora – Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas; Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Sonora, and Tamaulipas.
Zinnia haageana – Guanajuato, Jalisco, México State, Michoacán, and Oaxaca.
Zinnia juniperifolia – Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.
Zinnia maritima – Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit, and Sinaloa.
Zinnia microglossa – Guanajuato and Jalisco.
Zinnia oligantha – Coahuila.
Zinnia palmeri – Colima, Jalisco
Zinnia pauciflora Phil.
Zinnia peruviana – widespread from Chihuahua to Paraguay including Galápagos and West Indies; naturalized in parts of China, South Africa, and the United States.
Zinnia pumila A.Gray
Zinnia purpusii – Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, and Puebla.
Zinnia tenuis – Chihuahua.
Zinnia venusta – Guerrero.
Zinnia zinnioides (Kunth) Olorode & Torres
formerly included[1]