Chamaemelum nobile, commonly known as chamomile (also spelled camomile), is a low perennial plant found in dry fields and around gardens and cultivated grounds in Europe, North America, and South America. Its synonym is Anthemis nobilis, with various common names, such as Roman chamomile, English chamomile, garden chamomile, ground apple, low chamomile, mother's daisy or whig plant.
C. nobile is one source of the herbal product known as chamomile using dried flowers for flavoring teas or as a fragrance used in aromatherapy. Chamomile has no established medicinal properties.
Description
Chamaemelum nobile has daisy-like white flowers and procumbent stems; the leaves are alternate, bipinnate, finely dissected, and downy to glabrous. The solitary, terminal flowerheads, rising 20–30 cm (8–12 in) above the ground, consist of prominent yellow disk flowers and silver-white ray flowers. The flowering time in the Northern Hemisphere is June and July, and its fragrance is sweet, crisp, fruity and herbaceous.
Although the plant is often confused with German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), its morphology, properties and chemical composition are markedly different.
Etymology
The word chamomile and the genus name Chamaemelum derive from the Greek χαμαίμηλον (chamaimēlon), "earth-apple", from χαμαί (chamai), "on the ground" + μήλον (mēlon), "apple", so-called because of the apple-like scent of the plant.
The plant obtained the name "nobile" (Latin "noble" NEU) because of its putative therapeutic properties, which were thought to be better than those of the German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.).
Distribution
Roman chamomile is native to Western Europe and the northwestern Maghreb, but has been introduced to a variety of areas outside its native range, where it has become naturalised. Its native range includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and the Azores. In Great Britain, it grows wild in Southern...
