Jacquin described it again in 1792 as Zinnia elegans, which was the name that Sessé and Moçiño had used in their manuscript of Plantae Novae Hispaniae, which was not published until 1890.

[10] The genus was named by Carl von Linné after the German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn, who described the species now known as Zinnia peruviana in 1757 as Rudbeckia foliis oppositis hirsutis ovato-acutis, calyce imbricatus, radii petalis pistillatis.

Zinnias are popular garden plants with hundreds of cultivars in many flower colours, sizes and forms.

Flower colours range from white and cream to pinks, reds, and purples, to green, yellow, apricot, orange, salmon, and bronze.

Alternatively they may be sown under cover, and carefully transplanted into their final positions when the soil warms up.