Marigolds

The marigold in question is the pot marigold, Calendula officinalis, not French, African or Mexican marigolds, which are different flowers altogether. The pot marigold is a native European plant with several English names, including Holigold and Mary Gold, which, with Marybud, is explained by the medieval legend that the Virgin Mary wore golden blossoms, which led the monks to name the flower in her honour. Poets began calling the flower ‘Mary Gowles’ and ‘Mary Golde’, and so it was that Marybuds found their way into Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.