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DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



Use. — It is used in the materia med'ica as a tonic in weak digestion and 

 nervous complaints, throat diseases, and as an expectorant. 



ANTHEMIS, L. (Camomile.) Flower-envelope, in form of a 

 hemisphere ; scales equal ; rays numerous, pistillate ; akenes terete, 

 angular, or striate, crowned with a border. Receptacle convex. A 

 perennial herb. 



1. A. nobilis, L. (Roman Camomile.) Stems numerous, 6 to 12 inches 

 long, spreading, and decumbent. Leaves 1 to 2 inches long, sessile, and 



velvety; divisions of the leaves linear. 

 Elower-heads terminal, on long, axillarv 

 pedicels ; rays white ; disk yellow ; scales 

 of receptacle broad and obtuse ; whole plant 

 has a pleasant aromatic odor and bitter taste, 

 especially the flowers. 



Var. flore pleno has double flowers. 



2. A. arvensis, L. (Common camomile. 

 Field camomile.) Differs from A nobilis 

 very Httle, except that the flowers are 

 smaller, and the bitter taste is less agree- 

 able. It is a troublesome weed in corn and 

 potato fields and on roadsides. 



Geoyraphij. — The anthemis grows well 

 throughout the middle and southern por- 

 tions of the north temperate zone, in Europe, 

 America, and Africa. The home of the 

 camomile is western Europe. It is culti- 

 vated in Italy, France, Spain, and Germany, 

 but the best is produced in England, and was 

 brought to northeast America by European 

 colonists. By cultivation, the yellow-disk 

 florets change into ray florets, and become 

 double." But their medicinal character is 



Anthemis nobilis 

 (Roman camomile). 



white; they are then called 

 thereby damaged. 



Etyiuolorjii and History. — Anthemis is from the Greek 6.vdos, a flower, due 

 to the profusion of flowers it produces. Nobilis, the specific name, Latm for 

 "noble" or "grand," is due to the large size and showy character of the 

 flower of this species. Arvensis is from the Latin arvum, a plowed field, 

 where the plant loves to grow. Camomile is from the Greek x«M«'. on the 

 earth, and fxijKou, an apple, due to the apple-like smell of the flower. There 

 is a popular belief that the worse the usage it receives the bettor it grows. 

 Shakespeare, in his Henry IV., says: " For though the camomile the more it 

 is trodden on the faster it grows, yet youth the more it is wasted the sooner 

 it wears." 



Use. — The medicinal properties of camomile are stimulant and tonic, and 

 it is a favorite domestic remedy for stomach disorders and loss of appetite. 

 The effects, besides being stimulant and tonic, are also carminative and ano- 

 dyne. A strong infusion, administered warm, is emetic. The flowers are used 

 in domestic practice for fomentations and poultices. The extract of the flowers, 

 as well as the essential oil, is used in the manufacture of bitters. The flowers 



