Calendula is truly an extraordinary plant and ally in the pursuit of health. When most people think of calendula, they think of calendula salve and oil used to heal the skin. Although calendula has some great skin-healing properties, there is so much more to this sunny orange flower. In this calendula monograph, we’re going to get into some detail!
In this calendula monograph article, we are going to talk about the medicinal qualities of this herb. Not only will we go over the calendula monograph herbal properties, but we’ll also talk about how we work with it in practice, how to best prepare it, and more. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to download the free calendula monograph to come back to time and time again.
Disclaimer
This article is for educational purposes only and shouldn’t be used as a replacement for medical attention or diagnosis. It’s recommended to talk to a doctor before beginning any herbal regimen, especially if you are taking pharmaceutical medication. Because every body is different, the following information may or may not apply directly to you.
Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
Calendula is a member of the Asteraceae family (aka the daisy family), along with lots of other plants, including sunflowers, marigolds, asters, goldenrod, and even lettuce! Its sunny orange flowers are unmistakable and difficult to miss. If you’ve ever grown the plant or picked its flowers, then you know that the flowers produce a sticky resin that’s hard to wash off your hands. That resin is important and actually a key player in this plant’s medicinal properties!
Calendula Monograph
In this calendula monograph, we will talk about calendula’s energetics, tastes, medicinal plant parts, herbal actions, body affinities, constituents, and cautions.
Energetics & Tastes
Calendula is gently warming, drying, tonifying, and stimulating. Its tastes are bitter, pungent, minerally, and slightly sweet.
Medicinal Plant Parts
The only part of the calendula plant we work with medicinally is the flower, both fresh and dry.
Herbal Actions
Calendula has a wide variety of actions in the body.
Draining
More specifically, calendula is a draining lymphatic. This means that its mechanism of action is to clear and drain the access fluid from its body systems affinity, the lymphatic system.
Lymphatic
Calendula stimulates the lymphatic system and helps it move fluids around. The lymphatic system doesn’t have a central pump to move fluid as the circulatory system does, so it relies on the physical movement of the body to move its fluids. Calendula facilitates this movement which allows for more efficiency in the lymphatic system and, in turn, boosts the efficiency of the immune system.
Vulnerary
When in direct contact with a wound, calendula stimulates wound healing. Yes, this includes wounds on the skin but it also includes wounds on the inside of the body, particularly in the GI tract.
Alterative
Part of how calendula performs its actions in the body is by stimulating blood flow, both to the lymphatic system and to epithelial tissue. Plus, calendula lightly stimulates the liver which also helps to improve blood movement and quality.
Diaphoretic
The increased blood movement to the GI tract and intestinal lymph nodes when taken internally helps move stuck heat in the core. This heat is transferred to the blood where it can be released peripherally.
Antimicrobial
Calendula has this cool ability to break up biofilms. Biofilms are communities of different species of microbes that band together to create antimicrobial resistance. Calendula helps break up those biofilms and create microbial balance in and on the body.
Antifungal
Besides breaking up biofilms, calendula also specializes in helping you fight fungal infections. This includes fungal infections in the sinuses, gut, feet, and more.
Body Systems Affinities
Any guesses which body systems calendula has an affinity for?
The Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system is one for sure. Calendula’s draining, lymphatic, alterative, and diaphoretic qualities all act through (or at least partially through) this system.
Epithelial Tissue
The other, of course, is all epithelial tissue. This includes the epidermis (outer skin), mucous linings of the GI tract, the outer lining of some glands and blood vessels, and other cavity linings. The vulnerary actions of calendula work primarily through these tissues.
Notable Constituents
- volatiles
- triterpenes
- bitter glycosides
- sterols
- flavonoids
- carotenoids
- resins
- mucilage (up to 1.5%)
Cautions When Working with Calendula
If you are allergic to other members of the daisy family (ragweed, goldenrod, chamomile, marigold, yarrow, etc.) you may also be allergic to calendula. If you’re up for experimenting, I recommend it because this herb is one you really want to work with if you can.
Calendula in Practice
Not only is it important to address the herbal actions in this calendula monograph, but it’s also important to talk about how we work with it in practice. With all of the herbal actions calendula has to offer us, there are lots of conditions that are indicated for this herb.
A Whole Host of Gut Issues
Calendula affects epithelial tissue. That includes the endothelial tissue that lines your GI tract. This means all of its vulnerary actions you can see on your skin happen in your gut, too, and that calendula can be your best ally in healing a wide range of gut issues.
IBS and Crohn’s (or Related Conditions)
IBS, Crohn’s disease, and other inflammatory bowel diseases are related to damage, inflammation, and intolerances in the gut. Calendula heals wounds and damage from allergenic and inflammatory foods, stimulates lymph to clear out garbage more efficiently, and increases the body’s ability to digest and tolerate foods. With sustainable diet and lifestyle changes paired with working with plants like calendula medicinally, these issues can be diminished to the point where they are no longer creating discomfort. See the gut-heal tea recipe below for my go-to, foolproof blend.
Food Allergies and Sensitivities
If you’re dealing with food allergies and sensitivities, the best course of action is to identify the allergens and eliminate them. However, sometimes this isn’t possible due to economic issues or food-related trauma. In these cases, you can work with calendula on a daily basis to help increase the body’s ability to digest and tolerate foods. It’s best to work with tea in this case (recipe below!)
Non-Flatulence Bloating
Bloating is a serious condition! Remember when you were a kid and your parents would feel the lymph nodes in your neck to see if they were swollen? And if they were, that meant you were really sick and could stay home from school? The same concept applies to your gut. Roughly 60% of your lymph nodes are located around the intestines. And if you’re dealing with bloating that doesn’t have to do with gas, then chances are the bloating is caused by swollen lymph nodes.
This bloating is often caused by eating foods you’re allergic to or that cause inflammation. As mentioned above, the best course of action, in this case, is to eliminate those inflammatory foods. However, sometimes that’s not possible (and sometimes, you just want to eat that comfort meal!) Calendula can help alleviate both acute bloating due to eating these inflammatory foods occasionally as well as chronic bloating due to other conditions like the ones mentioned above. Again, gut-heal tea is your best friend here!
Leaky Gut
It’s important to keep in mind that naturopaths and nutritionists love to diagnose people with leaky gut without actually testing for it. If you’ve been diagnosed with leaky gut without having been tested, I recommend asking your healthcare professional for an official test. That’s because there are other issues that could be happening and it’s important to have an accurate understanding of what’s going on in order to figure out the best plan of action.
However, whether you’re dealing with leaky gut or something else, calendula will likely still be able to help you out. Similar to the other conditions above, calendula’s vulnerary and lymphatic actions will heal wounds causing the leaks and improve the lymph’s ability to clean the gut out. If you’re dealing with leaky gut or something similar, eliminating allergens and changing dietary habits, at least in the short term, will be important for optimal healing. See the gut-heal tea recipe below!
Gut Infections
Similar to leaky gut, gut infections like candida overgrowth are overdiagnosed. It’s important to remember candida and other microbes like salmonella are present in everyone’s gut and are a part of healthy gut flora. However, these microbes need to be in balance. If we’re dealing with a gut infection, the goal, most of the time, is not to eliminate the pathogen but to return it to equilibrium. Also, it’s important to actually get tested to see if a gut infection is really the problem or not.
Not only does calendula’s vulnerary and lymphatic actions act to help heal the gut, but so does its antimicrobial and antifungal actions. Often, if we’re dealing with other gut issues, we’re also dealing with a microbial imbalance of some kind. As calendula is stimulating healing and clean up, it’s also busting up biofilms and helping return you back to that equilibrium. Again, tea’s the way to go here.
All Topical Wounds
Whether it’s a scrape, burn, or bee sting, calendula is indicated for the job. As an antimicrobial lymphatic vulnerary, it helps the body clean out the wound and patch it up. Depending on the kind of wound, the method of application will vary. For example, for a wet wound or an oil burn, we do not want to put an oil-based preparation on it like a salve. Instead, we’d want to work with a calendula wound wash or compress. Or if we’re dealing with a dry wound like a road burn, an oil-based preparation would work great (after thoroughly cleaning it, of course). Not only can calendula help us with acute or traumatic wounds, but it can also help us with chronic skin conditions like eczema.
Fungal Sinus Infections
Did you know that most ear, nasal, and sinus infections are actually fungal? That’s why antibiotics don’t work to kick them. Luckily, calendula is an excellent antifungal! If you’re wishing to work with calendula to beat a sinus infection, a few drops of calendula tincture on the tongue a few times per day will help a lot.
Foot Fungus Issues
Calendula is a great antifungal in many contexts, including when fighting foot fungus! If you’ve ever dealt with a foot fungal issue, then you know how stubborn it can be. Thankfully, because of calendula’s antifungal properties as well as its biofilm-busting properties, it can really help to get your feet back to a comfortable balance. To work with calendula for foot fungal issues, I recommend creating a foot soak (recipe below!)
Ways to Work with Calendula
Now you know about calendula’s herbal actions as well as when we work with it in practice, it’s time in this calendula monograph to talk about ways to prepare the herb.
Calendula Tea
I’ve heard it from my herbalism teachers time and time again: those who don’t drink tea, don’t get better! If you want to work with calendula to heal gut issues, drinking tea is necessary. The number of constituents delivered in a vessel directly to the GI tract will be your best bet in aiding whatever issues you’re dealing with. Calendula only really “works” if it can make direct contact with the area you want it to help heal. Here is my favorite calendula tea recipe:
Gut-Heal Tea Blend
This tea blend is the star player in gut health. These herbs in concert with one another breakup biofilms, balance gut microbes, heal wounds in the GI tract, stimulate lymphatic drainage, and even stimulate digestive secretions. Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients:
- calendula flower
- plantain leaf
- And any combination of the following:
- marshmallow root (if experiencing dryness or irritation in the guts)
- ginger root (if experiencing nausea or cramping)
- fennel seed (if experiencing flatulence)
- meadowsweet (if there’s ulcer stuff going on)
- catnip (if there’s heartburn)
- peppermint (for nausea. . . and flavor, honestly)
- chamomile (cramping)
- any other digestive herb you want to work with
Add equal parts calendula, plantain, and whatever combination of herbs you chose. Put about an inch of the herb blend in a quart-sized mason jar, fill it with hot water, and let it sit overnight on the counter. In the morning, strain and drink through the day!
If you’re looking to heal gut issues, you’ll likely need to make this tea every day for at least a month. Plus, you’ll likely need to look at your dietary habits and make some changes. The good news is that the gut heals really quickly. 4-6 weeks of this tea blend plus dedicated dietary changes will give you serious and sustainable improvement in gut health.
To everyone with food trauma or eating disorders: your mental health is important, too. If you can’t make dietary changes without affecting your mental health, that’s ok. We’re just looking for a net positive. In this case, I recommend dedicating to the tea blend, eating what you want, and adding what you need.
Calendula Oil & Salve
As mentioned above, calendula can only help you heal whatever parts of the body it makes direct contact with. If you want to work with calendula for wounds or issues on the skin, I recommend creating a calendula oil or salve (you can also make a compress if you need something urgently!) salves are great for isolated skin issues like scrapes and burns and calendula oil is great for massaging into large areas of the body.
Calendula Tincture
Calendula tincture can be useful in some circumstances. Specifically when dealing with thrush or sinus infections. A few drops of calendula tincture in the mouth (in the case of sinus infections) or the nipples (in the case of thrush) a few times per day until the problem clears up with be really helpful. I also like to put a drop of calendula tincture on pimples. Especially when a big pimple is forming very deep under the skin, calendula tincture can help dry that up.
Calendula in Food
Calendula flowers aren’t just medicinal–they’re edible! I love adding calendula flowers to salads and stews for some extra nutrition. Plus, if you’re looking to work with calendula for its gut-healing properties, adding it to food is a great way to get a little extra in your diet.
Soothing Calendula Herbal Broth
One of my favorite ways to include calendula flowers in my food is by adding them to broth. Especially when you’re sick, making a warm, herbal broth can be so soothing. I like adding medicinal mushrooms, seaweed, and other herbs to the broth, too. I like this herbal broth recipe.
Calendula Foot or Bath Soak
Especially if you’re dealing with foot fungal issues, foot baths can be so soothing and healing. Not only is calendula antifungal, but it also helps break up the biofilm that can make foot fungus stubborn. To make a foot soak, add equal parts calendula, plantain, and thyme, three parts Epsom salts, and hot water. You can also add some vinegar to help aid the antifungal efforts. Do a foot soak at least once per day until the issue dissipated and then some (sometimes, it can seem like the issue has been resolved but there’s still some fungus hanging around. It’s best to keep up the foot soak regimen for at least a few days after it seems like the problem is gone).
You can also add calendula to baths for its skin healing qualities to the skin.
Calendula Herbal Pairings
Not only do these herbs taste great with calendula, but they each complement its herbal actions.
Sourcing Calendula
For the highest quality calendula, I recommend growing your own! Calendula is easily one of the most effortless medicinal herbs to grow and just one plant produces an abundance of flowers all season. If you don’t have a garden to grow them in, you can easily grow them in a large pot or even a 5-gallon bucket! You can buy calendula seeds here.
If that’s not an option, I recommend finding a local herb farm to buy them from. Not only does this ensure high quality (most of the time), but it also helps support your local economy. You can also try buying from your local apothecary.
If you’re looking to buy herbs online, I recommend buying them from Mountain Rose Herbs. In my experience, they have the most reliable and highest quality products. Plus, they have lots of checks and balances to ensure socially and environmentally ethical practices. They sell calendula flowers, calendula flower powder, calendula oil, calendula tincture, and more.
More Herbal Monographs
Want to learn about more herbs? In my online Materia Medica, you will find all of the herbs I have written about. Here, you can click on any herb you want to learn about and you’ll get a thorough herbal monograph that’s always being updated, just like this one. Plus, you can download the free monograph for every herb! Learn more here.
Free Calendula Monograph Download
The Best Herbalism Books
There are hundreds of herbalism books available on the market. A quick Google search can be really overwhelming! Especially when the top search results from Amazon and Goodreads seem to be unreliable.
In this article, I’ve gathered all of my favorite herbalism titles in one place to share with you. If you don’t know where to start, that’s ok! The books are organized by type and I’ve written descriptions to let you know which I suggest in which situations. Plus, all of the books here are trustworthy, so you can follow your curiosity and pick which books stand out to you!
Summary: Calendula Monograph
Are you impressed yet? At the beginning of this article, I told you calendula has a world of herbal actions and applications beyond what we commonly think of. And now, you have a good understanding of that world.
In this calendula monograph article, we discussed a lot of aspects of calendula. We talked about its energetics, taste, medicinal plant parts, herbal actions, body affinities, constituents, and cautions. We also discussed how calendula is worked with in practice, how it’s prepared, and some other herbs to pair with it. Plus, you now have the free calendula monograph download for you to take with you and refer back to when you need it.
What are some ways you love working with calendula? What are you most excited to try? Right now, I am on a gut-heal tea regimen to heal some gut issues myself–and I’m feeling so great already! Leave your thoughts in the comments, I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading and happy formulating!
Deep roots and plant guilds!
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