It makes a perfect cup of tea, a nice gift for a friend, or maybe even a replacement for the hundred roses on Valentine’s Day.
Have you ever wondered why sunflowers, daisies and chamomile look a little bit different from the anatomical diagram of flowers in your biology textbook? And I mean the big giant disc in their centres that aren’t found in ‘typical’ flowers like lilies and roses.
Left: Chamomile (Matricaria recutita). Middle: Sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Right: Daisy (Bellis perennis).
This unique appearance is actually a characteristic of the family Asteraceae, one of the largest flowering plant families with over 25,000 species [1]. What looks like a single chamomile is actually a cluster of many tiny flowers, called a capitulum or head [2]. Its white ‘petals’ are special flowers called ray flowers, while disc flowers make up the central sun disc [3].
Such an arrangement of flowers, or inflorescence, isn’t the only thing that makes chamomile interesting. Chamomile originated from a Greek word that means ‘ground apple’ because of its tendency to grow close to the ground and its apple-like smell [4]. As with other yellow plants, it can be a symbol of friendship and unity.
However, chamomile is likely most famous for its medicinal applications. This is thanks to its many classes of bioactive chemicals, including flavonoids and terpenoids, which give the flowers a variety of uses [5]:
whole flowers are added to baths for anti-inflammatory effects;
extracts are used in creams for eczema, skin irritations, bruises, eye and ear infections;
chamomile tea, with its sedative effects, is used to treat insomnia, reduce nightmares and anxiety and aid in sleep;
potential benefits in reducing risk of breast cancer [6].
On top of it all, chamomile’s minor side effects make it a widely favoured alternative to western medicine.
If you can take anything from this post, is that chamomile is not just a small flower (or weed in some cases) growing in your garden, but a plant full of potential and captivating facts!
References:
Rolnik A, Olas B. The Plants of the Asteraceae Family as Agents in the Protection of Human Health. Int J Mol Sci. 2021, Mar, 16;22(6):3009.
Morhardt S, Morhardt E. California Desert Flowers: An Introduction to Families, Genera, and Species. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press; 2004.
MacKay P. Mojave Desert Wildflowers: A Field Guide To Wildflowers, Trees, And Shrubs Of The Mojave Desert, Including The Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley National Park, and Joshua Tree National Park (Wildflower Series). Guilford, Connecticut: FalconGuides; 2013.
Rauf A, Akram M, Semwal P, Mujawah AAH, Muhammad N, Riaz Z, et al. Antispasmodic Potential of Medicinal Plants: A Comprehensive Review. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2021, Nov, 11;2021:4889719.
Srivastava JK, Shankar A, Gupta S. Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Mol Med Report. 2010, Nov, 1;3(6):895–901.
Way TD, Kao MC, Lin JK. Apigenin induces apoptosis through proteasomal degradation of HER2/neu in HER2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt-dependent pathway. J Biol Chem. 2004, Feb, 6;279(6):4479-89.
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