Wild chamomile?

[Melissa Smith]

 

[Arielphf]

Certainly looks like it to me.

 

[IcyBC]

I have similar flowers in my yard, and they self-seeded themselves every where! Although some have told me that they are called feverfew, I can't tell the difference between the wild chamomile and the feverfew yet!

 

[Melissa Smith]

Would love to grow fever few

I have similar flowers in my yard, and they self-seeded themselves every where! Although some have told me that they are called feverfew, I can't tell the difference between the wild chamomile and the feverfew yet!

 

[Arielphf]

I have similar flowers in my yard, and they self-seeded themselves every where! Although some have told me that they are called feverfew, I can't tell the difference between the wild chamomile and the feverfew yet!

Feverfew

Chamomile (German)

Pineapple weed (wild chamomile)

You can tell the difference between feverfew and chamomile by the shape of the cone in the middle. If it sits up far above the ring of petals and the ring of petals actually bend back away from the cone, you likely have chamomile. The leaves are also very different; chamomile has very lacey, narrow leaves that almost look like needles. I planted the stuff one year, many MANY years ago and I still find it volunteering in. Wild chamomile looks like german but the petals are tiny - so is the plant - it rarely gets bigger than 8" tall, at least as far as I have ever seen.

BTW, don't feel too bad about not being able to tell the difference. I did a quick search for pictures of these plants and the search for 'chamomile' turned up pictures of daisy fleabane and oxeye daisies - listed as chamomile! Yes, they look similar, but the point is, you are certainly not the only one who can't tell them apart!

 

[DeborahJane]

Thanks for the explanation Arielphf.
Do you make tea out of the camomile varieties?
My husband swears by it as a cure-all for just about everything. He remembers as a kid, his German mother using it for conjunctivitis and other ailments, a real mainstay in the household. We always have it in tea bag form in the pantry but he certainly doesn't drink it. My daughter-in-law would though so I could try growing it. I've heard her talk about the virtues of feverfew as well.

 

[Arielphf]

Thanks for the explanation Arielphf.
Do you make tea out of the camomile varieties?
My husband swears by it as a cure-all for just about everything. He remembers as a kid, his German mother using it for conjunctivitis and other ailments, a real mainstay in the household. We always have it in tea bag form in the pantry but he certainly doesn't drink it. My daughter-in-law would though so I could try growing it. I've heard her talk about the virtues of feverfew as well.

Hi DeborahJane,

I have made tea from the flowers and my daughter loves it. She swears by it as a sleep aid, though I haven't heard of it as a conjunctivitis cure - good to know!

Actually, my favorite teas are from plants I can collect in the wild. I work as a forester so I'm outside a lot and come across a lot of really neat plants. I make teas from sassafras bark and wild bergamont as well as a really awesome one from hoary mountain mint. I'm good at identifying wild plants, but I'm still learning all the things you can do with them. Hopefully I can learn a thing or two on this forum.

 

[DeborahJane]

Hi Arielphf.
It's 4 am here so maybe I should give the camomile tea a go as a sleep aid, too, like your daughter. The only problem is I'm not into herbal teas unfortunately. It's English breakfast for me, I'm afraid.

Sounds like interesting work and obviously provides you with a lot of scope to learn about plant life. Great to be outside most of the time I'd guess.

 

[IcyBC]

Feverfew

Chamomile (German)

Pineapple weed (wild chamomile)

You can tell the difference between feverfew and chamomile by the shape of the cone in the middle. If it sits up far above the ring of petals and the ring of petals actually bend back away from the cone, you likely have chamomile. The leaves are also very different; chamomile has very lacey, narrow leaves that almost look like needles. I planted the stuff one year, many MANY years ago and I still find it volunteering in. Wild chamomile looks like german but the petals are tiny - so is the plant - it rarely gets bigger than 8" tall, at least as far as I have ever seen.

BTW, don't feel too bad about not being able to tell the difference. I did a quick search for pictures of these plants and the search for 'chamomile' turned up pictures of daisy fleabane and oxeye daisies - listed as chamomile! Yes, they look similar, but the point is, you are certainly not the only one who can't tell them apart!

I noticed the differences between chamomile and feverfew right away from the leaves! I have feverfew in the yard The leaves are exactly like that! Both of these plants have health benefits, if you know how to use them. I know I drink chamomile tea once in a while, but not sure if I am daring enough to make my own! Thanks for the post