Calendula palaestina
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the marigold family}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Calendula palaestina kz02.jpg
| image_alt = Yellow, star-shaped flowers, with yellow centres.
| genus = Calendula
| species = palaestina
| authority = Boiss.
| synonyms = *Calendula ceratosperma {{small|Viv.}}
- Calendula repanda {{small|Boiss. & Noë}}
}}
Calendula palaestina, the Palestine marigold, is a species of annual flowering plant in the marigold genus Calendula, family Asteraceae. It is an annual, erect, non-succulent herb, standing 20–40 cm high,{{Cite web |title=Calendula palaestina Boiss. {{!}} Flora of Israel and adjacent areas |url=https://flora.org.il/en/plants/calpal/ |access-date=14 May 2024 |website=צמחיית ישראל וסביבתה |language=en-US}} with glandular hairs. The leaves are alternate, 2.5-10cm long to 20mm wide, flat, and hairy to rough in texture, with margins mostly wavy and toothed, and tips more or less pointed.{{Cite web |title=PlantNET - FloraOnline |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Calendula~palaestina#:~:text=Distribution%20and%20occurrence:%20Grows%20on,Native%20of%20Mediterranean%20region. |access-date=15 May 2024 |website=plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au}}
Its flower heads, composed on many yellow ligulate (ray) and tubular (disc) florets, are borne singly at the ends of the stems. They have 2.5–4 cm long outer achenes, 2–2.5 cm long beaks, winged or wingless, sometimes crested or toothed; intermediate achenes are elongated; inner achenes are smaller, strongly curved, with scattered hairs.
The native range of this species is the eastern Mediterranean to western Iran, and it has been introduced to New South Wales. It grows primarily in the subtropical biome.{{Cite web |title=Calendula palaestina Boiss. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Kew Science |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:127132-3 |access-date=14 May 2024 }}
Chemistry
The flowers, leaves, and stems of various Calendula species contain flavonoids, xanthophylls, and carotenoids, essential oils, coumarins (scopoletin), and water-soluble polysaccharides.{{Cite journal |last1=Samatadze |first1=Tatiana E. |last2=Yurkevich |first2=Olga Yu |last3=Khazieva |first3=Firdaus M. |last4=Basalaeva |first4=Irina V. |last5=Savchenko |first5=Olga M. |last6=Zoshchuk |first6=Svyatoslav A. |last7=Morozov |first7=Alexander I. |last8=Amosova |first8=Alexandra V. |last9=Muravenko |first9=Olga V. |date=January 2023 |title=Genome Studies in Four Species of Calendula L. (Asteraceae) Using Satellite DNAs as Chromosome Markers |journal=Plants |language=en |volume=12 |issue=23 |pages=4056 |doi=10.3390/plants12234056 |doi-access=free |pmid=38068691 |pmc=10708038 |issn=2223-7747}} Like other species of Calendula, C. palaestina is used in various traditional and medicinal practices for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.{{Cite journal |last=Saveetha |first=Gheena |date=10 August 2023 |title=In Vitro Evaluation of Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Potentials of Herbal Formulation Containing Marigold Flower |journal=Cureus |volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=e43308 |doi=10.7759/cureus.43308 |doi-access=free |pmid=37700948 |pmc=10492899 }}
There is evidence that this species of Calendula has the potential to lower whitefly populations in a comprehensive pest management program in local communities, pending cultivation of these medicinal plant species.{{Cite journal |last1=Hammad |first1=E. Abou-Fakhr |last2=Zeaiter |first2=A. |last3=Saliba |first3=N. |last4=Talhouk |first4=S. |date=2014 |title=Bioactivity of indigenous medicinal plants against the cotton whitefly, Bemisia tabaci |journal=Journal of Insect Science (Online) |volume=14 |issue=105 |page=105 |doi=10.1673/031.014.105 |issn=1536-2442 |pmc=4212871 |pmid=25204756}}
