{"id":40842,"date":"2022-04-28T14:13:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T13:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/?p=40842"},"modified":"2022-04-28T14:19:49","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T13:19:49","slug":"identification-guide-for-english-chamomile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/04\/28\/identification-guide-for-english-chamomile\/","title":{"rendered":"English Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) Identification Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>English Chamomile \/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Edible<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-40842 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/04\/28\/identification-guide-for-english-chamomile\/chamomile-close-up-of-a-flower\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-a-flower-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-40848\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-a-flower-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-a-flower-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-a-flower.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-40848'>\n\t\t\t\tRob Hille, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/04\/28\/identification-guide-for-english-chamomile\/chamomile-dried-leaves-for-teas\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-dried-leaves-for-teas-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-40847\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-dried-leaves-for-teas-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-dried-leaves-for-teas-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-dried-leaves-for-teas.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-40847'>\n\t\t\t\tEhedaya (talk)Ehedaya, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/04\/28\/identification-guide-for-english-chamomile\/chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-40846\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-40846'>\n\t\t\t\tRob Hille, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/04\/28\/identification-guide-for-english-chamomile\/chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"234\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers-300x234.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-40845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers-300x234.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers-150x117.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-40845'>\n\t\t\t\tchaithanya krishnan chaithanya_krishnan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/04\/28\/identification-guide-for-english-chamomile\/chamomile-distant-pic-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"229\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-229x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-scaled-900x1179.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-782x1024.jpg 782w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-768x1006.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-1173x1536.jpg 1173w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-1564x2048.jpg 1564w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-115x150.jpg 115w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-distant-pic-2-scaled.jpg 1955w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2022\/04\/28\/identification-guide-for-english-chamomile\/chamomile-flowers-close-up\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"155\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-300x155.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-300x155.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-scaled-900x466.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-1024x530.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-768x398.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-1536x795.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-2048x1060.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-150x78.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Chamomile A once common plant but due to habitat loss it is classed as vulnerable on the Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain. We would therefore not recommend harvesting it in the wild.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Common Names<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Chamomile, Camomile, Roman Chamomile, English chamomile, Garden chamomile, Ground apple, Low chamomile, Mother&#8217;s daisy<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Botanical Name<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Chamaemelum nobile<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Scientific Classification<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Kingdom<\/strong> \u2013 Plantae<\/p>\n<p><strong>Order<\/strong> \u2013 Asterales<\/p>\n<p><strong>Family<\/strong> \u2013 Asteraceae<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Physical Characteristics for English Chamomile <\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Leaves<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The leaves are small, 2 times pinnate, finely divided and downy to touch. They have an apple like aroma when they are crushed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_40846\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-40846\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-40846\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-close-up-of-the-leaves.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-40846\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rob Hille, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Flowers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The flowers grow at the top of a green, hairy stem that is around 20 cm tall. They look like daisy flowers with yellow disc florets and white ray florets. Around 2-3 cm in diameter.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_40845\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-40845\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-40845\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers-300x234.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers-300x234.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers-150x117.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chamomile-nice-shot-of-the-flowers.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-40845\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">chaithanya krishnan chaithanya_krishnan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-40843\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-300x155.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"155\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-300x155.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-scaled-900x466.jpg 900w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-1024x530.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-768x398.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-1536x795.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-2048x1060.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/chamomile-flowers-close-up-150x78.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Habitat<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s a grassland plant and can be found in meadows, cliff edges. It was planted in lawns in Elizabethan times but can be hard to find in the wild.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Known Hazards<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Chamomile is likely unsafe for use during pregnancy, and its topical use for skin disorders may cause contact dermatitis.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Could be Confused with&#8230;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The closely related German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) which can be used in the same way.<\/p>\n<p>Pineapple Weed (Matricaria discoidea) also looks similar and it can be used in the same way as the Chamomile but the leaves have a pineapple like scent when they are crushed.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Edible Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The plant has a long history of use as a flavouring for food, herbal teas and cosmetics.<\/p>\n<p>The fresh leaves added to a salad bring a nice fruity flavour.<\/p>\n<p>The fresh or dried flowers can be used to make your own teas, simply steep them in boiling water for 5 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>The plant is used by a few craft brewers as a flavouring.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Notes on Herbal Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The plant has been used in traditional medicine since the Middle Ages and is classed as a carminative, painkiller, diuretic and digestive aid. It is also used as a mild laxative and has an anti-inflammatory and bactericidal effects.<\/p>\n<p>The main constituents of chamomile flowers are polyphenol compounds, including apigenin, quercetin, patuletin, and luteolin, and preliminary research shows that it may have anti-anxiety properties.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Extra notes from the Foragers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As I said due to habitat loss and changes to land use it\u2019s getting harder and harder to find Chamomile, instead use Pineapple Weed, it\u2019s more common, has a lovely aroma and can be used in the same way.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wildlifetrusts.org\/wildlife-explorer\/wildflowers\/chamomile\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">From the Wildlife Trust<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantlife.org.uk\/uk\/discover-wild-plants-nature\/plant-fungi-species\/chamomile#:~:text=Where%20to%20find%20Chamomile.,open%20glades%20in%20light%20woodland.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">From Plantlife<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>English Chamomile \/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Edible Chamomile A once common plant but due to habitat loss it is classed as vulnerable on the Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain. We would therefore not recommend harvesting it in the wild. Common Names Chamomile, Camomile, Roman Chamomile, English&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":40845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,86],"tags":[613,239,1365,1357,152,237,104,238],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40842"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43874,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40842\/revisions\/43874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}