Grow Wild to Know Wild
Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)

Flowers: June to September
Preferred site: sunny

Description: a perennial herb with feathery, bright green leaves and small white daisy like flowers, and distinct apple-like scent.

©Bob Gibbons /Plantlife

Habitats in the wild: prefers mown or grazed grassland in open places, such as sandy heaths, cricket pitches, coastal cliff-tops or open glades in light woodland.

Conservation status and threats: Chamomile is a scarce native species which has suffered a dramatic and continuing decline since the 1930s. The main threats to extant sites are drainage and the cessation of grazing. Its status in Britain is now assessed as Vulnerable.

Folklore/medicinal uses : Chamomile seats were commonly used in Elizabethan herb gardens, they were very soft and smelt of apples. Sir Francis Drake is reputed to have played his famous game of bowls on a chamomile lawn (Flora Britannica by Richard Mabey). Chamomile is used to make herb teas (and flavour herb beers), resulting in a strong aromatic odour and a bitter flavour. It has been widely used as a household herbal remedy, to treat digestive problems and as a sedative. A lotion can be applied externally to soothe toothache, earache and neuralgia. The essential oil is widely used in aromatherapy. It is also used as a shampoo, a dye and as an insect repellent (Plants for a future).

Position in garden : easily grown on moderately fertile acid soils, but will not stand excessive competition from adjacent plants. Chamomile will not tolerate heavy shade. Plants can be tried in lawns.

How to plant and when: plant well established young, pot-grown plants in autumn or spring, watering well until established.

Propagation: plants can most easily be propagated by carefully division in spring or autumn, and replanted into their permanent garden position. If more plants are required, short, stout cuttings taken in spring and early summer, and inserted into a cold frame or glasshouse offer an alternative way of propagating the plant.

Varieties available: there are many named forms of this species with either just slight variations or completely different colour flowers.

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