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Calendula officinalis
It is a short-lived aromatic herbaceous perennial, growing to 80 cm tall, with sparsely branched lax or erect stems. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, 5–17 cm long, hairy on both sides, and with margins entire or occasionally waved or weakly toothed. The inflorescences are yellow, comprising a thick capitulum or flowerhead 4–7 cm diameter surrounded by two rows of hairy bracts; in the wild plant they have a single ring of ray florets surrounding the central disc florets. The disc florets are tubular and hermaphrodite, and generally of a more intense orange-yellow colour than the female, tridentate, peripheral ray florets. The flowers may appear all year long where conditions are suitable. The fruit is a thorny curved achene.
It is probably native to southern Europe, though its long history of cultivation makes its precise origin unknown, and it may possibly be of garden origin. It is also widely naturalised further north in Europe and elsewhere in warm temperate regions of the world.
Herbal and cosmetic products named 'calendula' invariably derive from Calendula officinalis. Very popular in traditional medicine.
Spotted on Apr 29, 2013
Submitted on Apr 29, 2013
2 Comments
Thank you for this information, however here everybody are too lazy to plant it cause it grows wild and in gardens there is often some other species of Calendula that are more decorative because their flowers are bigger or thicker ;)
We plant marigold among our vegetable plants and tomato plants to keep the bugs at bay. They do a great job.