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Calendula officinalis - L.

Pot Marigold

Author	L.	Botanical references	200
Family	Compositae	Genus	Calendula
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	S. Europe. A garden escape in Britain[17].
Habitat	The original habitat is obscure but it is found as a garden escape on waste, cultivated and arable land and along roadsides[200].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	5 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.6m by 0.5m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves.

Edible Uses: Colouring; Tea.

Leaves - raw[14, 21]. When eaten they first of all impart a viscid sweetness, followed by a strong penetrating taste of a saline nature[4]. They are very rich in vitamins and minerals and are similar to Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion) in nutritional value[179]. Fresh petals are chopped and added to salads[183]. The dried petals have a more concentrated flavour and are used as a seasoning in soups, cakes etc[183]. High in vitamins A and C[218]. An edible yellow dye is obtained from the petals[46]. A saffron substitute[21], it is used to colour and flavour rice, soups etc[2, 14, 27, 33]. It is also used as a hair rinse, adding golden tints to brown or auburn hair[201]. A tea is made from the petals and flowers, that made from the petals is less bitter[183]. There is no record of the seed being edible, but it contains up to 37% protein and 46% oil[218].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antiphlogistic; Antiseptic; Antispasmodic; Aperient; Astringent; Cholagogue; Diaphoretic; Emmenagogue; Homeopathy; Skin; Stimulant; Vulnerary; Warts.

Pot marigold is one of the best known and versatile herbs in Western herbal medicine and is also a popular domestic remedy[4, 254]. It is, above all, a remedy for skin problems and is applied externally to bites and stings, sprains, wounds, sore eyes, varicose veins etc[4, 254]. It is also a cleansing and detoxifying herb and is taken internally in treating fevers and chronic infections[4, 254]. Only the common deep-orange flowered variety is considered to be of medicinal value[4]. The whole plant, but especially the flowers and the leaves, is antiphlogistic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, aperient, astringent, cholagogue, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, skin, stimulant and vulnerary[4, 7, 9, 21, 46, 165, 201]. The leaves can be used fresh or dried, they are best harvested in the morning of a fine sunny day just after the dew has dried from them[4]. The flowers are also used fresh or dried, for drying they are harvested when fully open and need to be dried quickly in the shade[4]. A tea of the petals tones up the circulation and, taken regularly, can ease varicose veins[201]. An application of the crushed stems to corns and warts will soon render them easily removable[7]. The leaves, blossoms and buds are used to make a homeopathic remedy[232]. It is used internally in order to speed the healing of wounds[232].

Other Uses

Compost; Cosmetic; Dye; Essential; Repellent; Weather forecasting.

The growing plant acts as an insect deterrent[14], it reduces the soil eelworm population[24]. The flowers are used cosmetically. They can be used in skin lotions and when added to hair shampoos will lighten the hair colour[244]. The flowers are an alternative ingredient of 'Quick Return' compost activator[32]. This is a dried and powdered mixture of several herbs that can be added to a compost heap in order to speed up bacterial activity and thus shorten the time needed to make the compost[K]. A yellow dye is obtained from the boiled flowers[2, 4, 46]. An essential oil is obtained from the plant[7]. It is used rather sparingly, in view of the difficulty in obtaining it, in perfumes that have a rather sharp tang[7]. The flowers close when wet weather is likely to occur and they can therefore be used as a rough means of weather forecasting[7].

Scented Plants

Plant: Crushed

All parts of the plant are pungently scented.

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in any well-drained soil[200, 268], though it prefers a good loam and requires a sunny or at least partially sunny position[4, 15, 200, 268]. Plants flower best when they are grown in a poor soil[108]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.5 to 8.3. The pot marigold is a very ornamental plant that is commonly grown in the flower garden, and occasionally as a culinary herb, there are some named varieties[183]. When well-sited it usually self-sows freely and will maintain itself if allowed[1, 4]. The flowers are sensitive to variations in temperature and dampness, closing when it is dark and when rain is expected[7, 244]. All parts of the plant are pungently scented[245]. The growing plant attracts hoverflies to the garden, the young of which are fairly efficient eaters of aphids[24, 201]. The flowers are attractive to bees[108]. Marigolds are good companion plants, they grow well with tomatoes[14]. Cucumber mosaic disease and powdery mildew can cause problems with this plant[188].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ from spring to early summer and again in September. The seed germinates best in darkness and usually within 1 - 2 weeks at 21°c[138]. The plant often self-sows freely.

Cultivars

No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[15] Bryan. J. and Castle. C. Edible Ornamental Garden. Pitman Publishing 1976 ISBN 0-273-00098-5
A small book with interesting ideas for edible plants in the ornamental garden.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden. 0
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press 0 ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[32] Bruce. M. E. Commonsense Compost Making. Faber 1977 ISBN 0-571-09990-4
Excellent little booklet dealing with how to make compost by using herbs to activate the heap. Gives full details of the herbs that are used.

[33] Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Faber 1960
Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. 0
An excellent small herbal.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[232] Castro. M. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Macmillan. London. 1990 ISBN 0-333-55581-3
A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Calendula officinalis

Fri May 19 2006

"Clapham, Tootin and Warburg" should read "Clapham, Tutin and Warburg", although I can see where the South London confusion might come in. Your spelling of "swearing" is also idiosyncratic. A useful site, though. I feast on calendula tonight.

Calendula officinalis

Kathy Stevens Wed Dec 6 2006

Calendula incorporated into an oil or gel is very ANTI-INFLAMMATORY on the skin and it explains the QUICK HEALING properties, esp. for feet of a diabetic when speed of healing is critical.

Calendula officinalis

Anni Dixon Thu Jul 26 2007

Anni Dixon. I used calendula tea as a mouthwash after deep and violent surgery to remove bone infection from upper and lower jaws of the mouth. It greatly assisted healing without infection. I was also interested to read somewhere (can't remember where now) that it is one of the few remedies for bone infection, when taken as a tea, which even antibiotics are unable to deal with because bone infection tends to lack a viable blood supply and therefore supply of oxygen. I have also found this tea used as a lotion for bathing the only thing to give relief to severely broken and dis-integrated skin during bad attacks of eczema on the hands.

help youself to health Information resource on chronic illness and environmental toxins

Calendula officinalis

Regina Sun Jun 22 2008

wikipedia includes picture, genus etc, and other info about use

Calendula officinalis

ethnoplants Wed Nov 19 2008

If you search Calendula seedling, there are in www.ethnoplants.com it's a very good plants!

ethnoplants calendula officinalis seeds

Calendula officinalis

Megan Wed Feb 11 2009

It says nothing in here abot how they are used for predicting the weather

Calendula officinalis

Plante Medicinale Tue Sep 8 2009

i want to grow CAOF for export, i`m from Romania

Plante-Medicinale.info

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