Field marigold is a small annual from the Mediterranean region and a close relative of the garden calendula (pot marigold), with flower heads only about ½ in (10–15 mm) across. In the US it has been recorded growing wild in California, mostly around the San Francisco Bay Area and the North Coast.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Stems and leaves are covered in sticky .
- Growth form
- A much-branched annual, upright or sprawling, usually about 1 ft (30 cm) tall and rarely over 20 in (50 cm).
- Leaves
- Leaves are simple and oblong, ¾–3 in (2–8 cm) long, with smooth or few-toothed edges. Upper leaves partly clasp the stem.
- Flowers
- Each stalk carries a single head of yellow or orange , each ray under ½ in (1 cm) long.
- Fruit
- One flower head produces three different kinds of seeds: curved, spiny outer ones; winged middle ones; and small ring-shaped inner ones.
Look-alikes
Pot marigoldCalendula officinalis
Pot marigold has much bigger heads, 1½–3 in (4–7 cm) across, often double, on plants up to about 2½ ft (80 cm). Field marigold heads are about ½ in across.
Why they get mixed upThey're in the same genus and share the same yellow-orange color.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Fields
- Disturbed ground
- Gardens
- Sandy soil
- Range
- Native to central and southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. In the US it has naturalized in California, with records from about 25 counties, most of them around the San Francisco Bay Area and the North Coast.
- Preferred conditions
- In other countries where it has been introduced, it shows up as a weed of crop fields and disturbed, often sandy, ground.
Life cycle
- Seed dispersal
- The curved outer and winged middle seeds are suited to traveling farther, while the ring-shaped ones tend to drop close to the parent plant.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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