Ehret, Georg Dionysius.

The Zinnias became popular garden plants in the early nineteenth century when numerous hybrids were created. The genus originates in the American Southwest, Mexico, and Central America. Zinnia elegans is the familiar species, originally from Mexico and thus a warm-hot climate plant. Its leaves are lance-shaped and sandpapery in texture, and height ranges from 15 cm. to 1 meter. Zinnias seem especially favoured by butterflies, and many gardeners add zinnias specifically to attract them. The name of the genus derives from the German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727-1759).