Tagetes Oil South Africa

Tagetes is a fast-growing annual plant. Its straight stems can grow up to two metres high. They bear narrow, serrated, pointed, khaki green leaves. The colour of the leaves gave the plant its local name, ‘khaki bush’, in South Africa. In South Africa, the leaves and flowers are often hung to keep flies and mosquitoes away.

In South Africa, the seeds of tagetes are planted after the first rains in early spring. The plants reach full growth by the end of February. The part of the plant that contains the essential oil is the flower. These have secretory hairs on the outside of the corolla tube that are full of fragrant molecules. Harvesting therefore begins when the flowers are just beginning to bloom, which is from mid-March to seed time at the end of May. In South Africa, tagetes are harvested from both wild and cultivated plants. Tagetes oil is extracted from the leaves, stems and flowers by steam distillation. A maturing period of nine to twelve months is required to allow the essential oil to develop its olfactory notes. From zero to six months tagetes has a wild and unpleasant scent. From six to twelve months, fruity notes of mango develop, the essential oil is ready.