Calendula Thanks for the photo Buttersweet
Calendula officinalis was named 2008 Herb of the Year by the International Herb Association. It is a beautiful plant and functional as well. Its flower petals have a wide variety of uses. Calendula is also known as “pot marigold” and “poet’s marigold.”
Calendula is an old-fashioned annual whose flowers are also used as a culinary herb. The plants grow in height between 1 and 2 feet, and the flowers are 2-4” across, ranging in color from creamy yellow to orange. The pale green leaves have a very distinctive aroma. The plants will bloom in full sun to light shade. This is an excellent cool weather annual to plant under deciduous trees, where the plants will receive sun throughout the winter. After the trees leaf out in the spring, calendulas will bloom in partial shade until May.
The flower petals are edible, and can be used to flavor and color soups, stews, poultry and butter. The flowers can also be used in herbal baths.
The petals of the calendula flower appear to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Calendula is typically found in Europe , Western Asia, and the United States. It belongs to the same family as daisies and chrysanthemums. The genus Calendula includes about twenty species of the Mediterranean, but only C. officinalis has been used in medicine or in the kitchen.
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Calendulae
Genus: Calendula
Species: Officinalis
Sources:
The Herb Companion www.herbcompanion.com
The Herb Society of America; www.herbsociety.org
Wikipedia; wikipedia.org
Step by Step Herbs, by Better Homes & Gardens c. 1995 by Meredith Corporation
The Complete Herb Book, by Jekka McVicar, c. 2008 by Firefly Books Ltd.