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Matricaria chamomilla
Also called Camomile, Wild chamomile, Blue chamomile, Scented mayweed, German chamomile, Mayweed, Sweet False Chamomile
German chamomile is a fragrant annual herb in the daisy family, grown mainly for its flowers, which are dried for tea and herbal medicine. It self-seeds readily and is easy to grow from seed in full sun.
Matricaria chamomilla (synonym: Matricaria recutita), commonly known as chamomile (also spelled camomile), German chamomile, Hungarian chamomile (kamilla), wild chamomile, blue chamomile, or scented mayweed, is an annual plant of the composite family Asteraceae. Commonly, the name M. recutita is applied to the herbal product chamomile, although other species are also used as chamomile. The plant is commonly used to make a tea.
M. chamomilla, historically used in various ancient cultures and commonly promoted today for a range of conditions, shows limited reliable evidence for effectiveness, may have mild side effects or drug interactions, and should be used with caution—especially around allergies, estrogen-sensitive conditions, and during pregnancy.
Chamomile does not need special soil, although it grows best on well balanced soils with good topsoil. It can be planted as an annual crop in either autumn or spring, or it can be treated as a perennial due to its ability to self-seed.
Aphids are a major insect pest in chamomile production. Its most significant diseases in Europe are downy mildew, powdery mildew and rust.
It shows limited reliable evidence for effectiveness, may have mild side effects or drug interactions, and should be used with caution—especially around allergies, estrogen-sensitive conditions, and during pregnancy.
Chamomile, a relative of ragweed, can cause allergy symptoms and can cross-react with ragweed pollen in individuals with ragweed allergies. Contact dermatitis may occur when touching the plant. When consuming the tea, there is potential for drug interactions with anticoagulants.
Chamomile is commonly used to make a tea. German chamomile is used in herbal medicine.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Matricaria chamomilla by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
