Calendula
Calendula officinalis
It faces the sun all day and will not look away.
Overview
Calendula is a solar plant — orange, forthright, heliotropic, not particularly mysterious on the surface. It opens with the sun and closes when it goes. The old name pot marigold comes from its use as a cheap saffron substitute in medieval cooking: dried petals stirred into broths and puddings for colour. But the other tradition surrounding calendula is quieter and concerns itself with the dead. In Mexico it is the primary flower of Día de los Muertos, its petal paths laid to guide the spirits home. In parts of Europe it was grown in churchyards and strewn on coffins. This tension — between the solar, cheerful face of the herb and its long association with grief and passage — is the most interesting thing about it.
Botanical Notes
A cheerful, easy annual or short-lived perennial reaching 30–60cm with sticky, slightly hairy, pale green oblong leaves and large, solitary flower heads of bright orange or yellow ray florets from June until frost. Highly resinous — the stickiness of the leaves is distinctive when rubbed between fingers. Self-seeds freely and tolerates poor soil. Native to the Mediterranean; cultivated throughout the world as a medicinal and culinary herb. The primary active constituents are triterpenoid saponins, flavonoids, and resins with well-documented anti-inflammatory and wound-healing activity.
Lore & History
Calendula takes its name from the Latin calendae — the first day of each month — reflecting the old observation that it blooms month after month through the growing season without pause. The Aztecs and other Mesoamerican cultures used the related Tagetes species in the same role that European cultures used Calendula officinalis: a flower sacred to the dead, placed on altars, woven into garlands, marking the threshold between the living and the departed. In English folk tradition, if a young woman rubbed calendula petals on her skin and recited a charm, she would dream of her future husband. A plant that faces the sun and keeps the dead — the conjunction is old.
Warnings
One of the safest herbs in this archive. Contact allergy is possible but rare — patch test on sensitive skin before extensive topical use. Those with known allergies to Asteraceae (daisy family) should exercise some caution. Safe in normal culinary and topical medicinal use. Avoid concentrated preparations internally during pregnancy as a precaution.