The scientific name for calendula is Calendula officinalis. Commonly known as pot marigold, but not truly related to marigolds, calendula is native to southern Europe. It also grows wild in Washington, California, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
Flowers
Herbal preparations and food colorings employ the flowers of the calendula plant. Bright yellow or orange, they come in single or double blossoms. A single blossom shows one layer of petals, while a double blossom has two. Calendula flowers will open at the beginning of the summer and continue to bloom until a hard frost if deadheaded. The flowers close at night and re-open with the sunrise.
Cultivation
The calendula plant prefers loamy, well-drained soil. This herbaceous annual is heat tolerant and thrives in full sun, at least six hours a day. Calendula can be sown outside or started indoors. Calendula has about an 80% germination rate. Calendula plants can be expected to reseed themselves from one growing season to the next.
Harvesting
For optimal potency for medicinal purposes, the University of Kansas Extension Service recommends hand picking flowers that have completely opened but have not gone to seed. You can pick calendula flowers more than three times a week, or harvest the flowers three weeks after they first begin to bloom.
Uses
Calendula has a history both as a medicinal herb and as an ingredient used for food coloring. The dairy industry used calendula flowers add a golden yellow color to butter and cheese. It was also used as an inexpensive saffron alternative to impart flavor and color to soups.
Medicinal History
According to information compiled by the Georgetown University Medical Center, calendula has a rich medicinal history. It was once touted as a cancer treatment when mixed with milk. Additionally, calendula tincture was used to heal wounds, bruises, cramps, ulcers and varicose veins. A calendula folk remedy calls for rubbing a fresh blossom on the affected area of a bee sting.
Breast Cancer
The use of a calendula ointment proved more effective at treating dermatitis caused by radiation therapy in breast cancer patients than trolamine ointment. The single-blinded study, published in the "Journal of Clinical Oncology" examined more than 250 patients. A single-blind study means the patients know which ointment they used but the doctors do not. Dermatitis occurred in 41% of the calendula paitents compared to 63% of the patients who used trolamine.
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