Description:
Widely known annual ornamental plant with an upright branched stem 3070 cm tall, short but densely pubescent. The leaves are alternate, densely covering the stem, rounded at the apex, entire, the lower ones with a blade tapering into a petiole, the upper ones are sessile. Flower baskets are large, up to 5 cm wide, solitary at the ends of branches; involucre saucer-shaped, within 1.5 cm of width, one-two rows; its leaves are almost identical, linear, pointed; receptacle glabrous, flat. Marginal flowers are reed, pistillate, orange, arranged in 2-3 rows (in terry forms of calendula up to 15 rows), median tubular flowers are staminate, yellow or orange. The fruits are bent sharp-toothed achenes of various shapes: outer ones with a longish hollow nose, median ones without a nose, annularly curved, with a wide wing, inner ones are small, without nose and wing. The whole plant emits a peculiar pungent aroma. Blooms from June to October. Calendula is bred everywhere in gardens, but the Mediterranean is the birthplace.
Harvesting, description of raw materials:
In medicine, flower baskets are used called marigold flowers – Flores Calendulae. Baskets are collected during flowering, during the period of horizontal arrangement of reed flowers. With a systematic collection, flowering continues until frost. Baskets are plucked without peduncles and dried in the shade or in dryers at a temperature of 40-45 degrees. The raw material consists of whole dried baskets; their diameter in simple forms is 5-30 mm, in terry forms 15-40 mm. Reed marginal flowers are orange, red-orange, bright yellow, median tubular yellow or brownish, involucral leaves are gray-green. The smell is weak, fragrant, the taste is salty-bitter.
Contains active substances:
Marigold flowers contain within 3% of carotenoids: carotene, lycopene, violaxanthin, flavochrome, etc. In addition, there are traces of essential oil, organic acids, bitter substance calendine, some tannins.
Medicinal use:
Calendula preparations are used externally as a wound healing agent, orally for gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastritis; as a choleretic; in heart disease and hypertension. Calendula flowers are found in KN tablets (calendula with nicotinic acid), which are used as a symptomatic remedy for some forms of cancer. In addition, marigolds (calendula) have phytocidal properties. In folk medicine, a decoction of calendula inflorescences is drunk for liver diseases, to prevent miscarriages after a bruise, for uterine bleeding, female diseases, they wash wounds, bathe babies with diathesis, children’s eczema; with fever, colds, they make baths for babies, from bloody urine in cattle, from “anguish” during hard work.