Calendula

Calendula is a flowering herb best known for its vivid orange and golden-yellow blooms. Also called pot marigold, Calendula officinalis has been cultivated in gardens for centuries as a culinary, ornamental and medicinal plant. It should not be confused with the marigolds of the genus Tagetes, which are botanically distinct.

The flower and its cultivation

Calendula belongs to the aster family, where what looks like a single flower is actually a head composed of numerous small florets. The outer ray florets form the colorful, petal-like display, while smaller florets occupy the center.

The plant is generally grown as an annual, flowering over a long season when spent blooms are regularly removed. Calendula readily attracts visiting insects and can produce successive flushes of flowers throughout the growing season. Its petals have also been used to add color to food and as a source of yellow and orange dyes.[1]

Herbal traditions

Calendula has a particularly strong history in European topical herbalism. Its flower heads have been prepared as infusions, washes, poultices, ointments and infused oils.

Herbalists describe calendula as vulnerary, a traditional term for plants used in wound-care preparations, and associate it with soothing irritated tissues. European herbal monographs recognize preparations of calendula flower for traditional use in minor skin inflammation and superficial wound care, based largely on longstanding use rather than conclusive clinical trials.[2]

The flower's place in herbal skincare is closely connected to this practical history of preparing it in oils and salves.

Constituents of the flower

Calendula is rich in several families of compounds, but its triterpenoids are especially noteworthy. These include faradiol esters, compounds investigated for their activity in laboratory models of inflammation.

Other constituents include triterpene saponins, flavonoids such as quercetin and isorhamnetin derivatives, and carotenoids that contribute to the saturated yellow and orange colors of the flowers.

Its volatile compounds also give the fresh plant a mildly herbal, resinous aroma, quite different from the perfume-like scent of many other flowers.[3]

Calendula therefore has two interesting identities: the familiar colorful garden flower and a complex botanical material with a long history of preparation for the skin.

At Deschampsia

We grow calendula in our garden on Vashon Island, harvesting the flowers repeatedly as they open. The blossoms are dried and stored for botanical oil infusions used throughout the year.

Our garden-grown calendula appears in Calendula & Citrus Soap, where the infused flower oil forms part of the soap's botanical character.

We also use calendula in the herbal infusion for Eye Serum | Botanical Roll-On and include calendula flower in Botanical Lip Butter.

Related Library entry: Oil infusions