Calendula Flower (Dried)

Calendula Flower (Calendula officinalis)
 
 
We love to pick the fresh petals and put them in our salads.  They taste wonderful and add sunshine to our meal.  I also make calendula vinegar and oil to use on my salads all winter long.
 
Calendula is often used in skin care products, as it is an anti-inflammatory for the skin which helps to heal wounds, bleeding wounds, mild skin burns or irritations, razor burns, wind burns, works well for abscesses, abrasions, open wounds, cuts, vaginal discharge, diaper rash, etc.  Calendula loves the skin!  Calendula will clean the skin from the inside out.
 
Calendula limits bacterial damage.  Apply a compress promptly to injured skin, which inhibits bacterial, viral and fungal microorganisms.  The sooner calendula is used following an injury the less scarring will occur.  Calendula was used extensively as a medicine during our Civil War and WWI, when Gertrude Jekyll instigated a campaign to grow and gather calendula to be used to dress wounds.  They were shipped to first-aid stations in France. 
 
Internally it is good for mucous membrane inflammations, ulcers, GI tract, painful menstruation, enlarged and inflamed lymph nodes, lungs, and a nice mouthwash after tooth extraction.  Calendula makes a very useful antiseptic vaginal douche for bacterial vaginitis.