Zinnias are annual garden flowers of the Asteraceae family. Carolus Linnaeus, the father of modern plant nomenclature, named them after Johann Gottfried Zinn, a German professor of medicine, in the mid-18th century.
Zinnias are true American natives that originated from the Southwest US, Mexico and Central America. The original wildflower grows to about 80 cm in height with solitary flower heads about 5 cm across. Purple ray florets surround black and yellow discs.
Today’s photo shows a flower bud of Zinnia elegans from above. No two are alike.