COMPOSITAE COMPOSITE FAMILY 
MAYWEED. DOG FENNEL 
Anthemis Cotula L. 
The flowers of this weed, variously known as Mayweed, Dog 
Fennel, Pig Daisy, Chiggerweed and Fetid Chamomile, are very 
conspicuous, and as the foliage is also pretty the plant might be 
used for ornamental purposes but for its 
disagreeable odor. It is a native of Europe 
but is now common in waste places, along 
roads and about barnyards all over North 
America except in the extreme north, and 
is also widely distributed in Asia, Africa 
and Australia. 
This is an annual, nearly smooth and 
much branched herb, 1-2 feet high. The 
leaves are alternate, 1-2 inches long, sessile 
and 2 or 3 times pinnately divided into 
very narrow lobes. Repeated contact with 
this glandular foliage scalds the skin. 
The blooming season is June to late 
autumn. The heads are commonly numer- 
ous and about 1 inch broad. The bracts 
of the involucre are oblong and somewhat 
hairy. There are 10-18 white ray flowers, 
mostly 3-toothed, at length reflexed, and 8 
commonly sterile. The receptacle is con- ZB « Z 
vex but becomes oblong, and its bristly 
chaff subtends the central flowers. The 
disk flowers are yellow and 5-lobed at | 
the top. The akenes are 1o-ribbed, rather | 
rough and without a pappus. 
The Field Chamomile, Anthemis ar- \ 
vensis L., resembles the Mayweed but is \ 
neither fetid nor acrid and is sometimes 
biennial. It is also from Europe and the leaves are also pinnately 
divided but more coarsely so. The oblong bracts of the involucre are 
blunt and usually somewhat hairy. As in the Mayweed, the heads 
are commonly numerous but usually a little broader. The 10-18 
white pistillate rays are 2-toothed and spreading. The scales of the 
convex receptacle are lanceolate and acuminate. The oblong akenes 
are bluntly 4-angled and their pappus is a mere border. The flowering 
season is earlier and shorter, being May to August. 
377 
