The Ultimate Calendula Flower Guide
Calendula, sometimes known as the “sunshine herb,” is one that every home apothecary needs to include because of its many and astounding uses and benefits for health and remedies! Its sunny blooms brighten the summer landscape well into fall, or first frost, and in some fortunate places can bloom all year round!
Here is a materia medica for Calendula, some ideas and recipes for how you can use this incredible flower, and some sources for more information. This lovely sunshiny little flower is one you just might want to consider adding to your medicinal herb garden, kitchen garden, or herbal tea garden this spring!
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All About Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
Besides being an exceptional ornamental plant for your garden, calendula has had a very long history of medicinal uses for literally thousands of years.
It’s also excellent as an edible culinary herb, as it adds color and a bit of taste to teas, stews, and other dishes. A few hundred years ago, kitchen wives added it to huge pots of stew and soups, hence its nickname “pot marigold.” Go ahead and try the flowers or petals in your salads for some fun color!
The nickname pot marigold may have also come from the fact that calendula grows very well in pots. I’ve heard both origins for this nickname. Calendula is NOT the marigold many of us think of when we think “marigold” here in America.
The marigolds that come to mind for most Americans are part of the Tagetes genus, and Calendula is a genus all on its own….it is a very different flower. The medicinal and edible calendula I’m referring to in this article is of the genus “Calendula” and the species “officinalis.” (Calendula officinalis)
This is an important distinction, as Tagetes species can be toxic, and true calendula has no toxicity whatsoever. It’s an extremely safe plant.
Calendula has many uses, ranging from medicinal (topical and internal), for body care products, as well as being used in some cultures for spiritual and religious ceremonies and also in cooking and for food. It’s absolutely a worthy plant to consider growing in your garden!
Calendula Quick Herbal Monograph
Common Name:
Calendula, pot marigold, bride of the sun, holligold, bull’s eyes, gold bloom, ruddes.
Latin Name:
Calendula officinalis
Family: Asteraceae (the daisy family)
Actions:
Vulnerary, antiseptic, astringent, lymphatic, nutritive, anti-inflammatory (in areas of the body it most strongly affects—see below), demulcent, hepatic, emmenagogue, potential bacteriostatic, alterative, chologague.
Note: You can get a PDF download of a great herbal glossary of actions and words to know by filling out this form. You’ll also get immediate access to the Resource Library with LOTS of goodies for you there.
Calendula has special affinities for female reproductive issues, the skin, the digestive system, the liver, and the lymphatic system, and these are the areas in which calendula most likely has the best anti-inflammatory actions.
Energetics:
Neutral in both heat and dampness; it’s a great all around herb for most constitutions. A few herbalists state that calendula is warming and drying. This means that the constitutions best suited for calendula in this case are cool, moist types.
However, calendula (in my opinion) should not be reserved just for this type of person or condition, since it has such all around great benefits and uses, and I have had great success using calendula with warm constitutions, as well as cool ones.
Main Constituents:
Carotenoids, flavonoids, mucilage, saponins, bitters, volatile oil, resins (Gladstar)
Parts Used:
The flower is the main part of the plant used for both edible and medicinal reasons. But the leaves can be used as well. In other words…if a few leaves are mixed in, it’s not a big deal. They are rather bitter….far more so than the petals, though.
Safety & Contraindications:
According to Rosemary Gladstar, in her book Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide (which I highly recommend if you are new to herbalism…and even if you’re not): “Calendula has a perfect safety record, with no toxicity reported. Use with joy and ease.”
According to herbalist Dawn Combs, calendula should be avoided in pregnant women in high doses during the first trimester. As always, do your own research before using herbs and essential oils.
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Benefits & Uses of Calendula:
For the Skin:
Calendula is one of the best herbs for use on wounds and injuries of all kinds, and is usually one of the first herbs beginning herbalists learn about.
“Modern research shows that Calendula is not an antiseptic, but bacteriostatic. That is to say, it does not kill bacteria, but contains them, keeps the wound clean and thus helps the body to cure itself.” (Wood)
In fact pus (suppuration) has great difficulty forming in the presence of this exceptional first aid herb. What this means is that calendula is excellent at keeping infections at bay. It’s a wonderful herb for a long list of ailments!
Some of these external uses include bleeding wounds, burns, sunburn, eye inflammation, stings, as a wash on chicken pox and measles, septic infections, scars, cracked and sore nipples from nursing, and vaginal dryness.
It’s also excellent for helping with eczema, general wounds, and makes an excellent diaper rash salve. Some herbalists use it for external fungal infections, such as thrush. (Combs)
Calendula has exceptional skin healing abilities, due to its exceptional vulnerary action, and helps with cell repair and growth. Even though it is potent, calendula is very gentle. For topical uses, preparations including infused oil, salves, liniments (tincture or acetum), washes or compresses are effective.
According to Matthew Wood in his book, The Book of Herbal Wisdom, there is evidence that calendula is helpful with reducing scar formation as well. I enjoy using calendula to help clients who experience peptic ulcers, as this ability to heal tissue extends to the gastro-intestinal tract as well.
For such a pretty, sunny little flower, it’s a requirement in our herbal apothecary for so many reasons. You can find out more about calendula in the Confident Herbalist Tribe!
Here’s a recipe for Cocoa-Orange Calendula Lotion bars—-these smell and feel SO good, and they make wonderful gifts too!
AND…if you are more into a natural body lotion (an ACTUAL lotion with naturally emulsified water and oil…NOT a gooey body butter), then you’ll just LOVE this recipe for Creamy Rose and Calendula Body Lotion. It’s easy too.
Finally, if you made too much calendula infused oil (easy to do because it’s just so fun), you might want to give this Calendula Handmade Soap recipe a try. It’s a lovely scented, highly conditioning soap great for sensitive and dry skin.
AND, calendula ranks among the top twenty herbs for the health and beauty of your skin.
For Digestion and Gastro-Intestinal Needs:
Because of its astringent and antiseptic properties, calendula is very helpful for stomach ulcers, cramps, and general indigestion. “Calendula is suggested when one is suffering from heartburn and acid reflux, as well as gastric, duodenal, and peptic ulcers.” (Young)
Ulcers: For ulcers, mix with marshmallow, and make a tea. For mouth ulcers, try swishing a tincture of calendula around in your mouth several times a day.
Indigestion: For stomach cramps, tummy ache, and indigestion, mix with peppermint and make a tea.
Diarrhea: For diarrhea, you can use it by itself or mixed with some blackberry tea to tone, tighten and soothe the intestines.
As a Lymphatic:
Calendula is an extremely well-known lymphatic, or lymph mover. This means that if you are dealing with sluggish lymph, inability to get rid of a bad cold, swollen lymph nodes, or painful lymph nodes, calendula is a wonderful herb to turn to.
You can drink it as a strong medicinal tea, or rub the soothing infused oil on your nodal areas (throat, armpits, groin, etc. where your lymph nodes are prevalent) in an upward motion toward the heart. To enhance the benefits of calendula, try using it in conjunction with other lymphatic herbs, including burdock, red clover, chickweed, and nettle.
“The lymph system is an important part of the immune system, but it has no pumping mechanism and so depends on the movement of the body to encourage the lymph fluid to move easily and quickly.” (Gladstar) Using calendula can help reduce sluggish lymph in the body, as can movement!
In the video above, I’m using calendula-infused oil and wild violet infused oil. If your violets are out of season and you can’t get the leaves, you can substitute with dandelion flowers or red clover flowers. Or…just leave it out and substitute with more calendula infused oil.
The ingredients for Lung Support Tea—- Calendula is a feature in this effective tea!
As a Nutritive Herb and Food:
Generally, calendula is very safe in medium to even high quantities as both food and plant medicine. It’s extremely high in carotenoids (and we can see this in its delightfully bright orange and yellow color). The flowers are reported to have one hundred times the carotenoids of sweet potatoes (by weight). (Groves)
Now keep in mind it takes a LOT of calendula to make up the weight of a sweet potato, so this factoid is something to take with a grain of salt.
Also, the nutritional value of calendula has not been officially stated/tested.
Regardless, as a plant used for many centuries by folk herbalists, it’s worth using often in your cooking. Try adding some calendula petals to your salads, including your sandwich salads! The color adds quite a nice touch, in my opinion.
I once served a salad to a group of friends, and garnished the top with edible flowers, including calendula. This salad was one of the most popular and definitely unique dishes there!
The petals are also wonderful to toss into your soups and stews, adding some additional color. Some people even substitute calendula petals for saffron, if it is the color they are looking for.
Just a heads up: The petals are bitter, so you don’t want to overdo it unless you are looking to add bitter flavors to your food. And it’s worth noting that the bitter flavor is what helps make this lovely flower such a great plant for your digestive health!
Here’s a recipe for a nutritionally rich tea to support the health of your bones. I added calendula for a touch of color and for its wealth of carotenoids. It’s gotten great reviews, too!
The beautiful color in this handmade soap comes from Calendula. Here’s a link to help you color your handmade soaps naturally.
Ways to Prepare Calendula
Calendula is a resinous herb, especially the center portion of the flower head. Therefore, preparations you choose need to take this fact into account. Alcohol tinctures are typically best for extracting the resins from plants, however, with calendula, a tea will often work just fine.
Here are some basic ways to prepare your calendula flowers. Note: Most of these preparations use the dried herb. Fresh calendula is very sticky and molds quite easily. For food, using them fresh is just fine.
Herbal Tea (Tissane):
Use 1 teaspoon of the dried herb per cup of just simmered water to make an infusion. Take 1-3 cups a day for digestive health. You can also add calendula petals to other tea blends.
You can find calendula a willing and colorful ingredient in my Lung Support and Wellness Tea—-great for your respiratory system, especially if you suffer from common breathing issues.
Tincture:
It’s best to tincture fresh calendula in 190 (95 percent) alcohol because of the high resin content. However, if the flowers are completely dried, 80 to 60 proof is just fine. You can use the tincture externally as a liniment or internally for stomach issues.
Need something for your eye health? This recipe is for an herbal tincture containing calendula, and it can be made into a tea (tissane) as well! Recipe for Eye Health—-with Eyebright and Calendula.
You just can’t beat calendula in your garden for ease of growing and harvesting all summer long!
Infused Herbal Oil:
Calendula infused oil is exceptional for helping soften skin, using it for massage, and helping with vaginal dryness (besides the fact that it helps regulate the vaginal biome).
Some herbalists like to use a bit of alcohol while the oil is infusing to help extract all the helpful constituents, but if you are using your infused oil for a chemically reactive processes like soap making, stick with plain oil. In my experience, the alcohol helps a little bit, but is not necessary at all.
Salves and Creams:
Calendula salve is a widely popular ointment for skin rashes and issues. You’ll need the infused oil to make your salve. You can find directions for making a basic salve with an herb infused oil here, or in the Confident Herbal Tribe and Confident Herbalist course materials. Here’s a link if you’re interested in a complete course on Home Herbalism.
You’ll find directions for both the calendula salve and a calendula cream in this month’s how to projects for calendula in the Confident Herbal Tribe!
Here is a recipe for a fabulous salve for itchy, dry skin; skin with eczema; or even for soothing bug bites in the summer. You’ll love this calendula-rich balm.
Here are some lotion bars made with calendula infused oil.
Hydrosol:
You can make a nice hydrosol for a calendula spray using the fresh flowers! A hydrosol is a water or steam distillation of the plant material that yields the hydrosol itself and small amounts of essential oils (the volatile oils from the plant). It’s great for your skin health!
You can find directions for making an herbal hydrosol here on my website or watch how I make a hydrosol with red cedar here on YouTube.
Other Sprays:
You can also make a calendula infused spray using the alcohol tincture mixed with distilled water or just plain hydrosol or tea. Keep in mind that the tea infusion will harbor mold and bacteria after about two days, so be sure to start over with a new one at that time.
Washes & Baths:
Calendula petals are excellent additives to bath teas, on their own in the tub, and as washes for external ailments and wounds. For eczema, it’s very soothing on the skin to spray or wash the area with a calendula water infusion (strong tea).
In Acetums (Vinegar Infusions):
Herbal acetums are herb infused vinegars. If you infuse calendula into apple cider vinegar, you’ll have a wonderful hair rinse for brightening light-colored hair and bringing out highlights! Just dilute the infused vinegar 3 to 1, water to vinegar.
Calendula and rose petals are a stunning and effective combination for skin health.
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Final Thoughts on Calendula for Your Garden and Home Apothecary
Calendula is so easy to grow, harvest, and use all year long, dried and fresh. It’s worth the small effort it takes to grow some in your garden or in a pot for use in your cooking and in your medicinal preparations too!
You can certainly purchase high quality dried calendula from local herb growers or larger bulk herb shops, like Starwest Botanicals or Frontier Coop. However, for something so easy to cultivate, I hope you’ll consider adding this sweet herb to your medicinal garden this spring!
You might also be interested in taking a look at my free 5-Day Herbal Foundations email course on How to Get Started Using Herbs! AND, if you sign up for the newsletter, you’ll never miss a thing.
You might also be interested in these related articles:
Foraging Juniper Berry and Benefits & Uses
Foraging Chaparral and Benefits & Uses
Red Clover and Rose Petal Salve for Your Skin
The Complete Guide to Frankincense Essential Oil
And hundreds more on the website and my YouTube channel (please subscribe)!
Hugs, Health, and Self Reliance,
Heidi
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The ultimate guide to calendula, an herb and beautiful flower with many useful properties! Should you plant it in your spring medicinal garden or kitchen garden? Here is a complete and ultimate guide for the uses and benefits of calendula, along with tons of recipes and ideas for you! Add this happy flower to your planting goals this year! You won’t be sorry! #calendula #uses #benefits #remedies #natural #howtouse #homeremedy #calendulaidea #gardening #materiamedica #herbalism #healingharvesthomestead #marigold