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Calendula officinalis – Betty Pillsbury of Green Spiral Herbs

Calendula officinalis is herb of the year for 2008 - a venerable herb, calendula. Its beautifully rayed petals in orange or yellow open with the warmth of the day. You can see in this sunny flower’s name, the similarity to the word calendar. And many modern herb books will state calendula is named thusly due to its supposed habit of blooming every day of the year. But, that is not quite the meaning of the name.

Ancient Romans used a lunar calendar system. A pontifex was assigned to watch the skies and look for the new moon. When that time appeared, he would calare (call out solemnly) and the month started. The Ides was the time of the full moon. Nones was the first quarter – the time between the new and full moon. The first day of their month was Kalendae or Calends from the word Calare. Calendula was purported to be in bloom every calends, or first of the month. Now, we take that to mean January 1, February 1, March 1, etc. as that is how our modern calendar recognizes the first of each month. But, it originally meant on every new moon, the beginning of the Roman month. Perhaps as the priest was standing in the field, watching the moon show its new face, he also noticed calendula blooming at his feet. Rome had a much milder climate than my zone 5 upstate New York garden! While I don’t have calendula blooming in winter, when it is in bloom, it is incessant.

Calendula officinalis is a medicinal herb. Any plant with the species officinalis (or officinale) tells you of its use as an official healing herb. These herbs would be found in medieval monastery gardens, then the apothecary shop and later in the official pharmacopeia (list of official drugs). Until the middle of the 1900s, most medicines were plant derived. With the ability of chemists to synthesize plant compounds and regulate their components, today most pharmacy medicines are synthetics made to replicate plant constituents.

Calendula is very anti-inflammatory due to its triterpene content. It makes an excellent vulnerary – a wound healing remedy. It is especially good for skin irritations like light abrasions, rashes and cuts. Calendula is gentle enough for children, yet strong enough to make quick work of alleviating irritations. An infusion of the flowers (1/2 cup of hot water poured over 1 Tbsp flowers, steep for 10 minutes) makes a soothing wash for cradle cap, prickly heat rash and other light rashes. Soak a clean cloth in the infusion and apply to the problem area for a few minutes. Repeat several times a day, if necessary.

I make Healing Comfort Salve, which is a combination of oil infused with comfrey leaf and calendula flower heads (and other ingredients) and thickened with beeswax, that many have used for repair of cracked skin, rashes and dry eczema. Several users report excellent healing of skin after radiation treatments. For an oozing wound, don’t use an oil based preparation, but use instead the water based infusion.

Calendula tea (petals only) is helpful for those with gastric ulcers or other digestive inflammation. One teaspoon of calendula petals to 1 cup of hot water, steeped for 5 minutes and sipped slowly is the recommended dosage. This can be repeated 2-3 times a day for 2-3 weeks. That same tea can be used as a rinse for reddened, irritated gums.

Calendula also has anti-fungal properties. Soak toes afflicted with Athlete’s foot in a foot bath of the cooled, strained infusion of ½ cup calendula flowers in 1 quart of hot water. Once the irritation has lessened somewhat and there are no broken skin, you may add 2-3 drops of tea tree essential oil into the foot bath for extra fungal control. Keep feet as clean and dry as possible and wear only natural fiber, white socks.

Another name for calendula is pot marigold. The reference to pot was the cook pot and pot marigold was used often in cooking. It’s quite easy to throw either fresh or dried petals into a soup, omelet, sauce or salad and enjoy its healthful benefits. Sometimes, it was referred to as “poor man’s saffron” as the petals would infuse rice with a golden color (but not saffron’s taste!). Due to its high flavonoid content, it is an efficient anti-oxidant. (Remember the adage to “eat a rainbow”, meaning all deeply colored foods, for anti-oxidant protection.) Remember to separate the petals from the green calyx when ingesting calendula.

Very often in old herbals they refer to calendula only as marigold (the pot being understood). This is NOT to be confused by the ornamental marigolds we often grow in our gardens today, which are members of the Tagetes family. Do not confuse the two plants. Some Tagetes can be harmful if ingested and they do not have the healing abilities ascribed to pot marigold.

According to “Witchcraft Medicine” by Claudia Muller-Ebeling, “The golden yellow flowers, called “Marygold” or “sun-bride” in the Middle Ages, were once sacred to the Great Goddess (Freya) and were used for love magic everywhere. When a girl plants or harvests the Niewelkblume, the never-wilt flower, in the footprints of her lover, he must come to her regardless of whether or not he wants to.” Christians adapted the name to Marigold and accounted its sacred attributes from the Virgin Mary, rather than Freya.

As calendula resembles the sun in color and shape, it was thought merely gazing at the flowers would imbue one with the sun’s healing powers and banish depression and melancholy. Some still drink pot marigold tea to limit Seasonal Affective Disorder. Pot marigolds also tend to open with the sun’s warm rays and close up in the evenings, a reverence of sorts. King Charles I, of England, wrote:

“The marigold observes the sun more than my subjects me have done.”

Growing calendula is fairly easy. It’s large, comma-shaped seeds can be planted directly in the ground in the spring or started inside in pots to be transplanted out after frost. Plant seeds about ¼” deep and cover loosely with soil. This annual enjoys cooler temperatures and may suffer in intense heat. Nearly any sort of garden soil will do for calendula. In northern climes, give it full sun and it will bloom from spring through light frosts of autumn. In southern climes grow it during winter (whenever you would grow pansies). Most varieties of calendula grow about 1 ½ feet tall. Picking the flower heads will encourage even more blooms to appear. Water as you would other garden flowers, opting for drier rather than moister soil. Towards the end of the growing season, if you leave several flowers unpicked, calendula will make seed and self-sow for you. Or, gather the seeds and sow them where you want them next spring.

The newer ornamental varieties available haven’t proven their worth medicinally yet. Although there is no doubt of their ornamental worth. I enjoy growing Calendula officinalis ‘Resina’ or ‘Erfurter orangefarbigen’. I found these varieties to be extra sticky when I pick them. The stickiness is indicative of resinous content and medicinal action. By the time I am done picking my calendula flowers from the patch, my fingers will actually stick together. It takes a few hand washings to get all the resin from my fingers. As long as your calendula flowers do the same, you have a fine batch. I pick the flowers in early afternoon, picking the entire flower head. Then, the flowers are laid to dry on a screen and placed in a shady indoor location. Place a small fan to circulate air across the blossoms so they do not mold while drying. Once dried, place in a glass jar and store in a cool, darkened place.

Calendula is the birth flower of October, my birth month. Maybe that is why I feel a special affinity for this magical, medicinal herb. Perhaps it is because it is such a darned useful plant. I would have to agree with those who believe simply gazing upon it causes cheerfulness. I am always delighted as I walk to the garden and see those lovely flowers with their bright faces turned to greet the sun. And let us not forget the folk-lore which tells us that touching marigold petals with bare feet allows you to understand the language of the birds. My socks are off! May your gardens hold a bit of gold:

“What flower is that which bears the Virgin’s name, The richest metal joined to the same?”

Marigold - our calendula!

Green Spiral Herbs has been certified a Botanical Sanctuary by United Plant Savers.

From the UpS website, www.UnitedPlantSavers.org, "Our goal is to help establish Botanical Sanctuaries that not only serve as rich depositories for "at risk" North American medicinal plants, but also serve as educational centers for plant conservation and organic cultivation."

Help us celebrate our recognition by attending our Open house on Saturday, June 30, from 11-3. Dan and Betty Pillsbury welcome you to our educational herb farm which contains Native, European, Chinese and Ayurvedic medicinal herbs; culinary herbs, aromatherapy herbs and much more. Enjoy a complimentary cup of herb tea as you stroll through the garden. This event is free and we encourage you to bring a friend. Find out about our upcoming herb classes as well. Wear appropriate footwear please!

Directions: From the Middleburgh Diner, turn onto Huntersland Road and go up 4.0 miles and look for the pink house.