Chamaemelum nobile Chamomile

Chamaemelum nobile
©Plantlife

A small, attractive, creeping plant with daisy-like flowers and feathery leaves which have a fresh apple scent when crushed.

500 years ago it was used for lawns, and it still prefers mown or grazed grassland in open places, such as sandy heaths, cricket pitches, coastal cliff-tops or open glades in light woodland.

Formerly it was fairly common in Britain, but it is now only found in a few areas of southern England, notably the south-west and the New Forest. The main reasons for its decline are the clearance of heaths, drainage of winter-wet grasslands, loss of pastures to arable fields, and decline of grazing on commons.

These factors still threaten its future. Classified as Vulnerable and is therefore considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.