Chamomile

Matricaria chamomilla

Chamomile is native to Eastern Europe and the Near East but has been introduced in most of the lower 48 states, Canada and Greenland.^2,6 The plant is cultivated all over the world, with a large portion grown in Argentina.⁶ In 2012, the recorded annual consumption of this herb was 5,000 tons.⁶

The plant blooms in the summer from June to July, while the seeds mature from July to August.³ Seeds should be sown in spring or fall and will germinate within three weeks.³ Chamomile is easy to grow and requires little care.³ It can grow in any type of soil or pH, including nutrient-poor or saline soils.³ However, it prefers dry or moist, well-drained soil and a sunny location.³ Pollination is mostly by small flies and also bees.³

German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) can be distinguished from its look-alike Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), by its more bitter taste and hollow flower head.^3,6 Roman Chamomile is not as bitter and lacks this botanical feature.^3,6

Though the plant smells sweet and pungent, the flowers taste bitter.^3,8 Its applelike scent inspired the Greeks to name it Chamomile for kamai or “ground-apple” and melon, meaning “apple”.⁸ While the Spanish named it manzanilla or “little apple”.⁸

Tender new leaves can be made into seasoning.³ Some have used shampoo made from the flowers, especially those with light-colored hair.³ All parts of Chamomile repel insects.³ This plant was used as a “strewing herb” in England, from the Middle Ages to 1700s.³ Fragrant plants were strewn or scattered on house floors to impart their pleasant smells and disinfectant or repellant qualities.³ Its flowers can make a yellow-gold dye.³

Said to keep the garden healthy, Chamomile was called the “Plant’s Physician”.⁸ If any plant was sick, a Chamomile was planted next to it, and it came back to health.⁸ We know now that this plant is a dynamic accumulator.³ It collects soil nutrients and stores them in their tissues with high bioavailability, and it can be used as fertilizer or mulch, in permaculture.³ It is commonly used to protect against plant diseases as a liquid feed or general plant tonic; its flowers are an ingredient in the compost activator powder as part of the Quick Return Method by Maye Bruce.³

Nicolas Culpeper, a 17th century English herbalist, botanist, physician and astrologer, noted that the Egyptian Nechessor spoke of how the people dedicated this plant to the sun.⁷ Chamomile is known in folk herbalism for its gentleness and use for all, especially children.³

When the flower is steam-distilled, it results in a blue-colored essential oil and hydrosol due to a chemical reaction of a phytochemical called Chamazulene.⁶ This essential oil is used for flavoring and in the perfume industry.³

1. McGuffin M, Kartesz J. American Herbal Products Association’s Herbs of Commerce, 2nd ed. Silver Springs, MD: Publication of the American Herbal Products Association; 2000.
2. USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database: Matricaria recutita (PLANTS Database, 18 December 2020). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
3. Plants for a Future. 1996-2012. Plants for a Future Database: Matricaria recutita (Plants For A Future, Accessed 29 December 2020). Devon EX7 9LX England.
4. World Health Organization. WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants, Vol. 1: Flos Chamomillae. World Health Organization. 1999. Geneva, Switzerland.
5. Skenderi G. Herbal Vade Mecum. Rutherford, NJ: Herbacy Press; 2003
6. Van Wyk B-E, Wink M. Medicinal Plants of the World, 5th ed. Portland, OR & London, England: Timber Press; 2012.
7. Culpeper N. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician. London, England: Richard Evans Publishing; 1814.
8. Grieve M. A Modern Herbal, Vol. 1, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Dover Publications; 1982.