Plants herbs or shrubs. Leaves opposite, bases united and sheathing the stems. Inflorescences solitary, pedunculate capitula; peduncles hollow. Capitula usually radiate; pyllaries in 3-many series; receptacles with bracts between the flowers.Ray flowers female. Disc flowers bisexual. Achenes flat or angular; pappuses of 1-2 awns or absent.
Zinnia includes about 23 species. They are native from southern North America to South America. One species, Zinnia elegans, is known Somaliland, where it is sometimes grown as an ornamental species.
Note: GBIF records include introduced and cultivated plants. Consequently, the distribution shown often differs from statements about a taxon's native distribution.