1. Matricaria chamomilla L. (wild chamomile, false chamomile, German
chamomile)
M. chamomilla var. coronata (J. Gay) Coss.
& Germ.
M.
courrantiana DC.
M. recutita L.
Chamomilla
recutita (L.) Rauschert
M. suaveolens L.
Pl. 227
h–j; Map 953
Plants aromatic,
with a distinct sweet, musky odor when bruised or crushed. Stems 8–60
cm tall, glabrous or less commonly sparsely hairy. Leaf blades 2–7 cm
long, elliptic to oblong-obovate in outline, mostly deeply 2 times pinnately
lobed, the basal primary lobes often appearing clustered, the ultimate lobes
2–15 mm long, linear to threadlike, finely 3-veined. Heads radiate, the
stalks 2–6 cm long, slender. Involucre 2–3 mm long. Ray florets
10–15(–20), often becoming deflexed with age, the corolla
4–10 mm long, white. Disc florets with the corolla 1.5–2.0 mm
long, mostly 5-lobed, mostly yellow. Pappus a short collar or crown
(0.2–0.6 mm long), less commonly absent. Fruits 0.7–0.9 mm
long, usually 5-ribbed, the ribs well developed but not winglike. 2n=18.
May–October.
Introduced,
scattered, mostly in the eastern half of the state (native of Europe, Africa, Asia; introduced nearly worldwide). Fallow fields, railroads, roadsides, and open, disturbed
areas.
This species is
commonly grown in gardens and also commercially. It is the common false
chamomile that is used medicinally for its anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and
soothing properties. Most commonly dried stems, foliage, and heads are brewed
into a tea. An extract of the essential oils is also used as a lotion and an
ingredient in some soaps and shampoos.
The pappus in
some American plants forms a larger crown than that of plants from elsewhere in
North America and Europe. Although some botanists have referred to such plants
as var. coronata, there appear to be too many intermediates to support
formal taxonomic recognition of the extremes. Matricaria chamomilla is
very similar vegetatively to Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All. (true
chamomile, English chamomile, Roman chamomile) and Tripleurospermum
maritimum (L.) W.D.J. Koch (scentless chamomile), and specimens lacking
flowers or fruits may be difficult to determine with confidence. Chamaemelum
differs by having a chaffy receptacle and glandular corolla lobes. It is
occasionally cultivated in the Americas. Tripleurospermum is discussed
further in the treatment of that genus and above after the genus description
for Matricaria.