For centuries, pot marigold has played a supporting role in kitchens and apothecaries alike, valued more for its resemblance to costlier things than for its own nature. A new synthesis of 76 scientific studies now invites a reappraisal — not as imitation saffron, but as a chemically complex plant whose 500-plus bioactive compounds may have genuine roles to play in the foods we eat. The evidence is real but incomplete, a reminder that the distance between laboratory promise and human benefit is one of science's most humbling stretches.