There are many plants known as Camomile (or Chamomile), and you will find others on this site including Roman Chamomile and Dyer’s Camomile. They are found spelled with or without the H – a matter of debate!
This page is about Chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla, also known, among other common names, as German Chamomile or Scented Mayweed. It is an annual herb with narrow leaves and long stems topped with a single white ‘daisy’ with a yellow centre. (Roman Chamomile, the one generally used for herbal teas, has a similar flower but a lower growing habit and its leaves are more finely dissected).
Like other chamomiles, all members of the Asteraceae plant family, it has been used throughout history for a variety of medicinal applications, particularly for digestive and menstrual problems and for insomnia.
Unusually, it produces a blue essential oil, which gives it the alternative name of Blue Chamomile. The chemical that causes the blue tint is called azulene, and you can read more about this chemical, found in very few plants, on our page about Yarrow.
This is a brief description and we hope to improve on it soon.
