Chamomile is a herbaceous annual that grows to approximately 1 foot 8 inches tall and 1 foot wide.^3,6 Its stem is upright and branching.⁴ The leaves resemble feathers with those at the top divided tripinnately, and those at the bottom bipinnately divided.^4,6 All are in alternate positioning.⁴ Flowers are characteristic of the Daisy family and have a cone-shaped capitulum with a hollow receptacle.^4,6 The downward-pointing white ray flowers and tubular yellow disk flowers have flattened involucre bracts on the underside.^4,8 The fruit is yellowish in color, smooth and small.⁴ The seed is an ovoid achene.⁴

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