Chamomile is a mild, pleasant-smelling herbal plant. Its small, daisy-like flowers and delicate foliage are easily confused with common field weeds. Accurate identification requires learning the specific physical characteristics of true chamomile plants, primarily the German variety (Matricaria recutita) and the Roman variety (Chamaemelum nobile).
Visual Clues: Leaves, Stems, and General Form
True chamomile plants exhibit a delicate appearance, beginning with their highly dissected, fern-like foliage. The leaves are finely divided into narrow, thread-like segments, giving them an almost lace-like or feathery texture. German chamomile tends to grow upright as an annual, reaching heights of up to two feet, with smooth and branching stems.
Roman chamomile, conversely, is a perennial variety characterized by a low, spreading growth habit, often staying under a foot tall. Its stems are generally more creeping, and its leaves are a greyish-green hue compared to the light green of its German counterpart. Both varieties produce flowers that visually resemble a miniature daisy, featuring a central cluster of yellow disk florets encircled by 10 to 20 white ray petals.
The flower heads of German chamomile are typically borne singly on thin stems that branch out from the main stalk, measuring between half an inch and one inch in diameter. While the overall daisy shape is a strong visual indicator, definitive identification requires a closer examination of the flower’s internal structure due to shared appearance with other plants in the Asteraceae family.
The Confirmatory Test: Receptacle and Aroma
Two specific features provide the most reliable confirmation that a plant is true chamomile, particularly the German variety. The first involves the distinctive aroma released when the plant material is disturbed. Crushing the flowers or leaves should immediately release a powerful, sweet, and fruity fragrance often compared to a fresh apple.
The second, and most reliable, test involves examining the receptacle, the slightly swollen base beneath the yellow disk florets. To perform this, slice a flower head vertically down the middle with a sharp blade. The receptacle of German chamomile will be distinctly hollow and conical or dome-shaped on the inside.
The hollow receptacle is a particularly significant feature because many common look-alikes have a solid or pith-filled core. Roman chamomile also possesses the characteristic apple scent, but its receptacle is typically solid or densely filled with pith. This simple cross-section analysis offers a clear, physical difference to confirm the identity of German chamomile.
Avoiding Mistaken Identity: Common Look-Alikes
Confusion frequently arises because several other plants share the daisy-like appearance and feathery leaves of chamomile. One common look-alike is Dog Fennel or Mayweed (Anthemis cotula), which is immediately distinguished by its odor. Unlike the pleasant fruity scent of true chamomile, Dog Fennel often releases an unpleasant or acrid smell when its foliage is crushed.
Another close relative is Scentless Mayweed (Tripleurospermum inodorum), which looks nearly identical to German chamomile but lacks any significant aroma when crushed. Crucially, both Dog Fennel and Scentless Mayweed possess a solid or pith-filled receptacle when the flower head is cut in half, failing the most reliable physical test for German chamomile.
Pineapple Weed (Matricaria discoidea) presents a different kind of challenge, as it is related to German chamomile and shares the hollow receptacle structure. However, this plant is easily identified because its flowers lack the white ray petals entirely, featuring only a small, yellowish-green dome of disk florets. While Pineapple Weed often has a sweet, pineapple-like scent, the absence of the white petals immediately rules it out as the typical daisy-like chamomile.