(Marigold.)

Origin. - The dried ligulate florets of Calendula officinalis L., an annual plant, a native of the Levant and Europe, frequently cultivated as a garden ornament.

Description and Properties. - Florets about 1/2 inch (12 Mm.) long, linear and strap-shaped, delicately veined longitudinally, yellow or orange-colored, three-toothed at the apex, the short, hairy tube enclosing the remnants of a filiform style elongately cleft. Odor slight and somewhat heavy; taste rather bitter and faintly saline. It contains a peculiar gummy principle, calendulin, a bitter constituent, and a trace of volatile oil.

Dose. - 5-30 grains (0.3-2.0 Gm.) [15 grains (1 Gm.),U. S. P.].

Official Preparation

Tinctura Calendulae - Tincturae Calendulae - Tincture of Calendula (20 per cent.). - Dose, 15-60 minims (1.0-4.0 Cc).