Calendula (AKA Pot Marigold)

Calendula officinalis

Family: Asteraceae

Energetics: Warm, dry, tonifying

Actions: Vulnerary, diuretic, antimicrobial, lymphatic - draining, gentle bitter liver support, diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory

• This bright and sunny flower is an adaptable herb that is perfectly happy in the San Juan Islands in the garden or windowsill. It is easily grown from seeds after the last frost and matures in 80 days. Keep out of reach of deer, I swear they only eat the flowers!

• This herb is a lymph mover with an affinity for supporting the lymph nodes of the gut. If you find yourself bloated after a meal, you may have eaten food that doesn’t agree with your body and swollen lymph nodes may be to blame for the discomfort. Calendula can serve as a great base of a gut heal tea to move and drain stagnant lymph. Through its diuretic properties it can move the waters of our body from the interstitial spaces back into the bloodstream and ultimately out of our bodies. This drying effect can effectively relieve edema.

• Calendula is vulnerary and quite exceptional at healing our skin and endothelium that lines our gut. When applied as a poultice, fomentation, or an oil when the wound becomes dry and itchy, it stimulates cell proliferation and lymphatic movement at the wound while warding off infection. It is an excellent first aid herb, especially with slow to heal wounds.

• In instances of thrush, strep throat, and when a sinus infection makes the roof of your mouth itchy and sore, calendula’s antimicrobial nature can soothe the affected tissue when applied topically to the site as tincture or tea held in the mouth or gargled.

• Calendula is a gentle herb safe for all ages and may be consumed by children of all ages for an upset stomach, internally in dropperful quantities to soothe an infant’s thrush, or topically in the cases of diaper rash and eczema. This herb in topical applications to the nipple can also be helpful to those nursing an infant with thrush, as the infection can often pass back and forth between the parent and baby.

• Calendula is a mild bitter with gentle liver stimulating properties. Brew it on the stronger side and it can stimulate appetite and bile flow. Its pleasant sunny spirit moves through not only our bodies, but also our minds. This stimulation can be uplifting for those of us who run on the more stagnant side. When the mind and mood feel bogged down, perhaps stuck repeating particular thoughts, calendula can hold us by the hand and help us move through heavy stuck states.

• This herb stimulates diaphoresis by directing blood flow from the core out to the periphery which can be helpful for breaking a fever. As an added bonus, it is safe for everyone including kids and elders and can gently ease the heat of intense fevering.

• I work with calendula as an ingredient in a green salve that has wide applications. When combined with friends such as plantain, chamomile, pine, cedar, and licorice, the resulting preparation is magic! When applied to bug bites, scrapes, dry eczema and other shallow wounds it relieves itching and heals the skin all while reducing the risk of infection.