Calendula

Parts Usually Used

Leaves, flowers

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Calendula, or Marigold, is an annual garden plant; reaches a height of 20-28 inches, with an angular, branched, hairy stem 1-2 feet high. The leaves are alternate, sessile, spatulate or oblancleolate, dentate with widely spaced teeth, and hairy. 6 inches across. Opens its petals at nine and closes them at four. )

Where Found

Cultivated. Native to central, eastern and southern Europe.

Medicinal Properties

Antispasmodic, aperient, cholagogue (increases flow of bile), diaphoretic, vulnerary (heals wounds), emmenagogue, diaphoretic, alterative, astringent

Biochemical Information

Essential oil containing carotenoids (carotene, calenduline and lycopine), a saponin, resin and bitter principle

Legends, Myths and Stories

In medieval England, a popular religious legend described the Virgin as being accustomed to wearing golden blossoms which the monks of the period decided should be named in her honor; from that association of the golden herb with the Virgin Mary, old poets began calling the herb, “Mary Gowles” and “Mary Golde”. Years later in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, the marigold flowers were referred to as the “winking Marybuds”.

Often used as a less-expensive substitute for saffron, fresh or dried petals give subtle flavor and golden color to seafood, soups, stews, puddings, rice and omelets. The dried petals, softened in hot milk, can be added to the batters of cakes, breads and cookies. The fresh, tender young leaves are good in salads. There is another marigold (Tagetes lucida) of the sunflower family, known as sweet scented marigold or Mexican marigold, Mexican tarragon, pericon, and sweet mace.

This plant has nothing to do with Calendula officinalis. Do not mistake identification. The garden marigold in American gardens is derived from this Mexican marigold (T. lucida). The marigold of old Europe is the true marigold. There is also a French marigold (Tagetes patula). The Tagetes and related species should not be confused with Calendula. The Tagetes species are used as insecticides and weedkillers.

Yellow dye has been made from the flowers of marigold and, as a saffron substitute, used for coloring butter and cheese. It was the Romans who recorded that the marigold was usually in bloom on the first day (calends) of every month. The Latin generic name Calendula and the common Italian name “fiore d’ogni” were given to the herb from this observation.

Uses

Historically, marigold flowers were consumed raw, brewed into infusions, or formulated into topical lotions, salves, and ointments. Traditional herbalists prepared petal infusions as lotions intended for oily skin, and flower-based ointments were widely applied for general complexion care. Folk practitioners employed marigold preparations internally with the intention of regulating menstruation, easing menstrual cramps, and managing digestive complaints such as stomach cramps, recurrent vomiting, colitis, diarrhea, and gastritis.

The plant was also traditionally administered for fevers, colds, and earaches. Externally, herbalists used marigold oils, salves, and fresh plant juice for a variety of skin and musculoskeletal issues, including burns, bruises, sprains, pulled muscles, bedsores, boils, abscesses, sores, acne, varicose veins, and warts. Fresh flowers were historically rubbed onto bee and wasp stings in folk tradition.

In culinary traditions, the petals served as an economical substitute for saffron, imparting a golden color and mild flavor to rice, soups, stews, seafood, omelets, and puddings, or infused into milk for baked goods. The tender young leaves were sometimes included in salads. Gardeners also historically planted marigold as a companion plant believed to deter pests such as nematodes, bean beetles, and asparagus beetles.

How Sold

Buy dried flower heads

Bibliography

American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.

, Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

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A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary , 15th Edition, F.

A. Davis Company, 1915 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974