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Wild chamomile stems terminate in a daisy-like flowerhead, 1-2" across. Flowerheads consist of 10-25 white, fertile (pistillate) ray florets that tend to droop slightly and a gumdrop-shaped central mass of 250-550+ yellow disk florets with both male and female reproductive structures. Individual disk florets are tubular. Behind the flowerhead are one to three series of light green, lance-shaped bracts with membranous edges. Wild chamomile can be distinguished from similar plants like ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) by its multiply-pinnate, slender lobes leaves and the fact that the flowerhead is actually hollow; when crushed they produce a pleasant, fruity fragrance. Wild chamomile is closely related to pineapple weed (Matricaria discoidea) but the two can't be confused.

Matricaria

Matricaria chamomilla

wild chamomile [Blooms: May-Jun]

Pineapple-weed, unlike it's cousin wild chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), is probably native to North America, specifically the Pacific Northwest, but has spread widely both here and in Europe. It is a small plant (up to 12" tall); the stems branch frequently. Flowerheads sit on 1/2-1.5" long flower stalks that arise from leaf axils. Each flowerhead is a gumdrop-shaped or conical mass about 8 mm across of greenish-yellow disk florets (125-535+) with four tiny lobes at the apex of the tubular corolla; there are no ray florets. The bracts behind the flowerhead have papery edges. When crushed, both the flowerheads and the foliage give off a pineapple-like fragrance. Sources differ on the biogeography of this plant. Both the USDA Plants and NatureServe Explorer websites say it is an exotic in North America; Wikipedia, the Flora of North America, World Flora Online, and the Illinois Wildflowers website say it's native to North America. Like wild chamomile, the flowerheads of pineapple-weed can be used to make a tea.

Matricaria

Matricaria discoidea

pineapple-weed [Apr-Jul]