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 i 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 '^^^^ 

 commonly sterile. The receptacle is con- '^^^^^^ 

 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 lo-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. 



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