''Calendula arvensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the

daisy family The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

known by the common name field marigold. It is native to central and southern Europe, and it is known across the globe as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived the ...

. ''Calendula arvensis'' is an

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual * Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

tall. The leaves are lance-shaped and borne on petioles from the slender, hairy stem. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

is a single

flower head A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

up to four centimeters wide with bright yellow to yellow-orange ray florets around a center of yellow disc florets. The fruit is an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

which can take any of three shapes, including ring-shaped, that facilitate different methods of dispersal.

Achene

''Calendula arvensis'' produce three types of achenes (fruits of the sunflower family), they are rostrate, cymbiform and annular. Rostrate and cymbiform are suitable for long-distance diffusion, because they have larger size and weight than annular, while annular is suitable for short-distance diffusion.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
* arvensis Flora of Europe Plants described in 1763 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Asteroideae-stub