Camomile
(Anthemis nobilis)
common camomile, chamomile, Roman chamomile,
ground apple, whig plant
Description:
A low growing creeping or trailing plant with tufts of leaves
and flowers, 1 foot high. The root is perennial, jointed and
fibrous. Stems are hairy and freely branching, covered with
alternate, bipinate, finely dissected, downy to glabrous leaves,with
a sweet apple-scent. The solitary terminal daisy-like flower
heads have a yellow conical center with 18 outer silver-white
ray flowers drooping when in bud. Found throughout the U.S.
as a common weed in dry fields, around gardens and cultivated
grounds.
Medicinal:
It is a anodyne, antispasmodic, carminative, sedative, aromatic,
tonic, and stimulant. Helpful for gas, colic, fevers and restlessness
in children, urinary
infections and diaper rash. Use 2 tablespoons of the flowers
to 2 cups water. Heat to just short of boiling. Soothes toothache,
earache, sore nipples and neuralgia, suppresses nausea, reduces
inflammation and dark shadows under the eyes. Used as a poultice,
to treat eczema and wounds. An oil, made of the flowers, is
used for swellings, calluses and painful joints.
