Re:calendula/marigold and pot marigold

[Guest guest]

At 09:51 AM 1/23/04, you wrote:

>Calendula officinalis is the latin name for Marigold - and its why you

>should use the latin names rather than the common names.

> Pot Marigold for

>example, is (latin name) Tagetes glandulfera and has very different

>medicinal properties.

odd...I always learned it was just the opposite...the healing herb

calendula is calendula officianalis, AKA " Pot Marigold "

just plain garden marigolds...that grow tall and golden or orange are

sometimes called French or african marigolds, and members of the tagetes

species.

Your source for superb Essential Oils, Aromatherapy

Accessories, Information, Books and more!

Visit us at: <http://www.naturesgift.com>

[Guest guest]

> odd...I always learned it was just the opposite...the healing herb

> calendula is calendula officianalis, AKA " Pot Marigold "

>

> just plain garden marigolds...that grow tall and golden or orange are

> sometimes called French or african marigolds, and members of the

tagetes

> species.

Marge, you are absolutely correct. Calendula officinalis is the plant

sometimes called marigolds, English marigolds and pot marigolds. The

old name was gold and it was supposed to represent the Virgin

. It this plant that is used for skin care and also as a herb in

food (It looks fantastic sprnkled on salads and has a mild, slightly

spicy taste).

" French " and " African " marigolds are Tagetes species, and actually

come from South America. Some of them have insect repellant properties.

PatS in Somerset, England

[Guest guest]

That's what I have read too, Marge. That Calendula a.k.a is Pot

Marigold. Nelle

> >Calendula officinalis is the latin name for Marigold - and its

why you

> >should use the latin names rather than the common names.

>

> > Pot Marigold for

> >example, is (latin name) Tagetes glandulfera and has very

different

> >medicinal properties.

>

> odd...I always learned it was just the opposite...the healing herb

> calendula is calendula officianalis, AKA " Pot Marigold "

>

> just plain garden marigolds...that grow tall and golden or orange

are

> sometimes called French or african marigolds, and members of the

tagetes

> species.

>

>

>

>

> Your source for superb Essential Oils, Aromatherapy

> Accessories, Information, Books and more!

> Visit us at: <http://www.naturesgift.com>

[Guest guest]

> In a message dated 1/24/2004 9:04:37 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> maryr@u... writes:

>

> I guess we all know that Calendula officinalis is THE calendula or

marigold or whatever folks choose to call it) that is used medicinally

and for skin care. Unfortunately, Pot Marigold or Marigold is the

name that is commonly used for this herb---even by reputable, educated

herbalists. I find this irritating, quite honestly since

herbalists should set a better example. All you have to do is type

it into the search engine and you'll see.

Herbalism existed long before Linneaus got all anal and classified

everything :-) Herbalists knew that the little pot " 's Gold " had

healing properties way before he named it Calendula officinalis

(anything with officinalis/ale/um as the species name means he

recognized it as having healing properties.)

Early Christians placed *calendula* flowers around statues of .

This is documented in many places. Centuries before Linneaus was born,

it was quite popular to make a meal in honor of the mother of jesus,

mary, and all of the plants associated with her were used. Foremost

was " 's Gold " , what we now know as calendula. They used the leaves

in a salad and has potherbs, and the flowers were used to color the

soup or sauces, and sprinkled all around the table for decoration. I

learned this bit of herbal folklore early on in my studies

(ethnobotany) and it always helped keep the Calendula sp. separate

from the Tagetes sp in my mind -- the Tagetes is quite rank in scent

and flavor.

I did a quick google for " mary's gold " calendula and food and got some

good results:

http://tinyurl.com/yrhet

hth

Anya

http://member.newsugy.com/~herblady

PS to the poster who replied earlier (sorry I can't find the post

again) about how fresh herbs are 'best' (I don't mean to harp on that

word, not looking for an argument here) for maceration, infusion, etc..

Please be aware I was speaking of oil infusions, not water infusions.

After years of making my own herbal infusions, tinctures, etc., and

years of interaction on herbal lists with herbalists far more

experienced than me, the general concensus is that dried herbs are the

safest to oil infuse, since they have lost their water weight and that

greatly reduced their ability to make the infusion go moldy.

For centuries, herbalists dried their herbs, and infused as needed. It

was recognized that the healing constituents remained in the plants

for a time (most herbs lose potency after six months or a year,

depending on storage techniques. Even with dry herbal infusions, some

'muck' needs to be decanted off the bottom after a few weeks of sitting.

SJW is the only herb I infuse when it is fresh, because it is the only

one I use on a regular basis that requires that fresh infusion, losing

its potency for oil infusion after it is dried (it can still be an

effective tea when dried, but, that of course, is for the

psychological effects, not the pain-reducing effects that the fresh

herb has.)

To sum it up (this is pretty long for a PS, no? :-) if you want to

insure that your batch of infused herbs will store properly, with no

mold growing, and still have healing properties, dry is, then infuse.

That's my experience, of course, YMMV.

[Guest guest]

> In a message dated 1/25/04 1:39:50 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> mccoy@n... writes:

>

> > I

> > learned this bit of herbal folklore early on in my studies

> > (ethnobotany) and it always helped keep the Calendula sp. separate

> > from the Tagetes sp in my mind -- the Tagetes is quite rank in

scent and flavor.

> Hi Anya,

> Oh! You need to try Tagetes lucida! The one that is commonly called

Mexican

> Mint Marigold or Texas Tarragon. It's sort of minty in

taste...actually

> similar to French Tarragon...and it's pretty and smells good too!

>

> Angie

Hi Angie

I'm very familiar iwth T. lucida -- I've been growing it for over 15

years. I was just generalizing about the rank Tagetes in general. In

Mexico, T. lucida is called 'dulce' and a tea is made for babies. I

use it in cooking a lot, even though my boyfriend, who dislikes

anise-flavored stuff does call it rank! (so I don't flavor his food

with it.) We can't grow regular tarragon here in Miami, so it's a good

substitute.

Anya

http://member.newsguy.com/~herblady