What is "zinnia elegans"

Zinnia \Zin"ni*a\, n. [NL. So called after Professor Zinn, of G["o]ttingen.] (Bot.) Any plant of the composite genus Zinnia, Mexican herbs with opposite leaves and large gay-colored blossoms. Zinnia elegans is the commonest species in cultivation.

Zinnia elegans, known as youth-and-age, common zinnia or elegant zinnia, an annual flowering plant of the genus Zinnia, is one of the best known zinnias. It is native to Mexico but grown as an ornamental in many places and naturalized in several places including scattered locations in South and Central America, the West Indies, the United States, Australia, and Italy.