XVIT. 
MATRICARIA CHAMOMILLA.* 
Wild Chamomile, Bitter Chamomile, Corn Fever-few. 
SyxonyMs.—Chamemelum vulgare. Chamomilla nostras. Lucanthemum. 
-Forrign Names.—Fr.: Camomille commun. Germ.: Feld-kamille, Halmer- 
cherz, Matricaire, Mutter-kraut. Dut.: Maartel. Jéal.: Matricaria. Span. : 
Matricaria. Dan.: Modcrut. Pol.: Maruna-ziele. 
Gen. CHar.— Involucrum slightly convex, closely imbricated, with 
several oblong, nearly equal, membranous-edged scales. Corolla com- 
pound, radiant. Florets of the conical disk numerous, perfect, tubular, 
with five equal, spreading segments. Florets of the ray numerous, 
strap-shaped, spreading, or reflexed, blunt, with three terminal teeth. 
Filaments in the tubular florets only hair-like, very short. -Anthers in 
a cylindrical tube. Germen in all the florets inversely egg-shaped, 
. angular. Style thread-shaped, not prominent. Stigmas spreading, 
blunt. Seed-vessel none, but the unchanged, expanding calyx. Seed in 
all the florets inversely egg-shaped, angular, without any border or 
crown. Receptacle naked, almost perfectly cylindrical, hollow. 
Sprc. Cuar.— Leaves smooth, twice-pinnatifid; the segments very 
narrow, strap-shaped. Jnvolucrwm nearly flat ; its scales bluntish. 
History.—The Matricaria Chamomilla has been generally 
passed over as a medicinal plant, the Matricaria Parthenium 
and Anthemis nobilis being preferred. It is, however, men- 
tioned by Dioscorides under the name of Lucanthemum. Hip- 
pocrates extols the virtues of [lzp$evov, which is, according to 
Sprengel, Matricaria; but Sibthorp considers it to be the Matri- 
Fig. 1. Floret of the ray. 2. Floret of the disk. 
* The name is derived from matrix, from its supposed specific virtues on that 
organ, ; 
