Nomenclature

Species name:

Calendula arvensis   L.

Author(s):

Carl von Linné
   Sweden, 1707-1778

Common name:

Field Marigold

Maltese name:

Suffejra tar-Raba

Plant Family:

Asteraceae / Compositae   (Daisy Family)

Name Derivation:

Calendula = Derived from latin word that means 'Calender', referring this plant's long flowering season. (Latin);
arvensis = Field, related to arable land (referring to its habitat) (Latin).

Synonyms:

Calendula aegyptiaca, C. persica, C. gracilis, C. malacitana, C. micrantha, C. parviflora, C. officinalis ssp. arvensis

Plant Description

Life Cycle:

Annual

Habitat:

Arable land, fallow fields, wasteland with soil are the most common sites for the Field marigold

Sources in Malta:

A common plant found in Dingli, Buskett, Chadwick lakes, Wied Incita, Birzebbugia, Mistra, Mosta, Mellieha and many other locations. Also found in Comino and Gozo (eg: Dwejra and Ta' Cenc)

Plant Height:

10-30cm

Flowering Time:

Nov-Apr

A variable, annual, herbaceous plant that cannot be missed in Malta due to its bright yellow/orange flowers, its abundance throughout the islands and its long flowering season (one of the earliest after the firs rains). The erect plant forms many fleshy branches and sub-branches where the lower ones are found to be prostrate to ascending. Stems are rather thick, entirely green and covered with short wool-like hairs.

The leaves are oblanceolate to oblong, sessile and measure between 2-10cm in length and not more from 2cm in breadth. They are less hairy from the stems and so they can be described as pubescent. Some specimen have leaves with a nearly entire margin, while many others have an undulate margin with small teeth at the crest of this wavy outline. Leaves have a central midrib with less prominent pinnate veins

The flowers are daisy-like heads (referred to as a capitula) between 15mm to 25mm across. The involucre consists of numerous, slender, phyllaries (bracts) arranged in a single row. They are situated one next to each other and slightly overlapping only at the lower third. They are about 7-12mm long and 1mm wide, with an acute pointed tip. The outer ray florets or ligules (bearing a petal like structure) and the central disc florets lie on a flat receptacle. Ray florets are numerous (more than 30) and their ligule is narrow oblong in shape with 3 tiny teeth at the tip. The colour varies from bright golden yellow to orange. An important distinguishing characteristic of Calendula species in Malta is the ratio between the length of the ligules with the length of the involuvre. Calendula arvensis never have ligules more than twice the length of the involucre.

The disc florets are quite spectacular when observed closely. They hava a star-shaped corolla with broad 5 lobes of whose colour varies between yellow, amber, red or maroon. Protruding out from the centre of the corolla is a fairly long staminal/anther coloumn, bright yellow in colour with amber or yolk-yellow pollen. In many cases the colour of the ligule and that of the disc-florets is the same (concoloured), but some specimen have yellow ray florets and orange or maroon disk florets. Orange ligules with yellow disk florets is rare.

The fruiting part of Calendula is rather complex in morphology compared to other many other Asteracea genii which usually consists of a set of identical achenes with or without a papuus. In Calendula arvensis, the achenes comes into 3 different shapes, where each shape is related to a different but specific dispersion method.

At the outer rim of the receptacle, the achenes (=seeds) are found in 2 shapes and often alternating. The shape of one of the achenes is a narrow, 90 degrees incurved structure with a tapering beak and several rigid bristle-like projections (2mm long) at the outer side. These curved structures are between 12-20mm long. When mature and dry, these bristles help the seed to attach to animal fur or human clothes and get dispersed away. The other type of achene found at the rim is 6-10mm long, concave and pouch-like structures which acts like sails to trap wind and get carried away. Towards the centre of the receptacle, there is the third type of achenes, quite unspecialised linear structures, about 2mm long and thin enough to be gathered and carried away by ants. All three types of seeds are viable.

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