Zinnia flowers are members of the Asteraceae family, also known as aster, daisy or sunflower family, known for their single long-stemmed flowers that come in a wide variety of bright and cheerful colors, and occasionally bi-colored. The zinnia was a bland, single orange color when discovered in Mexico in the early 1500s, and they were thought by Aztec, the Mexican emperor, to be so dull and boring that he named them “eyesore”. How times change, for today zinnias are a popular flower, grown to look at, both cut and growing in the garden. The commonly grown variant, Zinnia elegans, is also known by the name young-and-old-age.

The message sent by the zinnia flower varies with the color, and in general signifies fond remembrance of absent friends: