SC - "Harpestraeng"

[david friedman]

I don't know that the lack of a warning label designates a plant as 
nonpoisonous. They certainly aren't lethal in dosages you'd expect. Most of 
the sources I've been able to put my hands on since early this morning 
designate the period marigold  (Calendula officinalis) as the marigold to be 
used in herbal preparations, and cooking. The only mention of French marigold 
(Tagetes patula) and African marigold (Tagetes erecta) are for companion 
planting to repel insects and for dyestuff. While there were no obvious 
warnings put forward, I tend to want to err on the side of caution. AFAIK, 
they aren't edible. Your mileage may vary.

Corwyn

In a message dated 3/19/2000 3:38:53 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
ringofkings at mindspring.com writes:

> If they were indeed poisonous, any
>  reputable seed company would put a prominent warning on the
>  seed packets as they do for plants like monkshood, datura and castor
>  beans.  They have no such caution and I am quite certain the
>  petals are quite harmless if ingested, though the flavour is much
>  stronger and unpleasant tasting than the native European marigolds, 
>  the calendula.  Modern recipes for the deep orangy gold marigold 
>  puddings often make no difference in the type of marigold petals 
>  used.