Matricaria Chamomilla* Corn Feverfew^ or 



Camomile. 



MATRICARIA Lin, Gen. PL Syngenesia Polygamia SuperfluA» 



Recept. nudum. Pappus nullus. Cal. hemifphasricusj imbricatiis i 

 marginalibus folidis, acutiufculis. 



Raii Syn. Gen. 8. Herb^ flore composito disgoide, seminiSus pappo 



DESTITUTIS, CORYMBIFER£ DICT^E. 



MATRICARIA Chamomilla receptaculis conicis, radiis patentibuSj fquamis calycinis margins 

 asqualibus. Lin. Syft. Vegetab. p. 643. Sp. PL p. 1256. Fl. Suec. n. 764. 



MATRICARIA foliis planis capillaribus, duplicato-pinnatis, pinnulis lanceolatis bifidis trifidifquei 

 Haller. hijl. n. 101. 



CHAM^EMELUM vulgare, Leucanthemum Diofcoridis. Bauh. pirn 135. 



CHAM./EMELUM Gerard, emac. 754. 



CHAMyEMELUM vulgare Parkinf. 85. (qui vulgare cum nobili confundit) Raii Syn. p, 185* 

 Hudfion FL Angl. ed. 2. p. 372. Lightfoot FL Scot. p. 491» 



RADIX annua, fimplex, fibrofa. f ROOT annual, fimple, and fibrous. 



CAULIS pedalis, ad fefquipedalem, erectus, ramofus, | STALK a foot, or a foot and a half high, upright* 

 fubangulofus, ftriatus, lsevis. J branched, fomewhat angular, ftriated, and 



I* fmooth. 



FOLIA faturate viridia, alterna, feflilia, Iasvia, pin- 1 LEAVES of a deep green colour, alternate, feffilej 

 nata, pinnis linearibus, inferioribus fimplici- 4 fmooth, pinnated, the pinnae linear, the lower 



bus, fuperioribus ramofis, pinnulis acutis, | ones limple, the upper ones branched, the 



mucronatis, divaricatis, cofta femilineam lata, } pinnule or fmall pinnas (harp and terminal 



carinata. ing in a fhort point, divaricating, the midrib 



I half a line broad, and keeled. 



PEDUNCULI erefti, ftriati, nudi, fuperne fubincraf- 1 FLOWER STALKS upright, ftriated, naked, a little 

 fati.^ j thickened above. 



FLORES albi, difco e luteo-virefcente. | FLOWERS white, the difk of a yellowifh-green 



f colour. 



CALYX communis hemifphaericus, fquamis plurimis, | CALYX common to all the florets, hemifpherical* 

 imbricatis, obtufiufculis, apice fufcefcentibus, J fcales numerous, imbricated, fomewhat ob- 



fubmembranaceis, longitudine fere tubi flof- f tufe, the tips brownifh, and a little mem- 



culorum femineorum in radio, fig. 1. | branous, almofl the length of the tube of the 



4 female flowers in the circumference,^. 1. 



FLOSCULI radii 13 circiter, feminei, oblongi, fefqui- 1 FLOWERS of the radius about 13 in number, female, 

 lineam lati, bifulci, tridentati, dentibus ob- 1 oblong, a line and a half broad, two-grooved, 



tufiufculis, fig. 2. Stigma bifidum, flavum, f three-toothed, teeth bluntifh,j^. 2. Stigma 



laciniis reflexis,^-. 3. | bifid, yellow, the fegments turned back,j£g% 3. 



FLOSCULI difci, numerofi, tubulofi, hermaphroditi, 4 FLOWERS of the difk, numerous, tubular, herma- 

 quinquedentati, fig. 4. Stigma bifidum, la- J phrodite, five-toothed, fig. 4. Stigma bifid, 



ciniis reflexis, fig. 5. | the fegments turned back, fig. 5. 



SEMINA numerofa, minuta, pallide fufca, oblonga, SEEDS numerous, minute, of a pale brown colour, 

 fulcata, fig. 6. f oblong and grooved, fig. 6. 



RECEPT ACULUM oblongum nudum. * | RECEPTACLE oblong and naked. 



The Matricaria Chamomilla, Anthemis Cotula, and Chryfianthemum inodorum, are three very common plants 

 in the neighbourhood of London ; as the two firft. are extremely firnilarjn their general appearance, and are 

 often found growing together, we have published them in the fame number, that an opportunity might be 

 afforded of comparing and contrafting them. 



Parkinson, deceived by their great fimilarity, makes only one plant of them ; Mayweed, fays he, is fo 

 like unto Chamomile, that I muff, needs join them together. 



The ftudent who is acquainted with the mode of inveftigating the generic character of each, will quickly 

 diflinguifh the one from the other ; on differing the heads, he will find the pointed paleae which are fixed to 

 the receptacle of the Anthemis totally wanting in the Matricaria ; but this knowledge, though highly necef- 

 fary, is not fufficient for thofe who would wifh to know plants at firft fight, which is always deferable ; we (hall 

 therefore, in addition to the generic character, point out feveral others, in which they have appeared to us 

 materially to differ from each other. 



Their place of growth affords but little difl.in6t.ion, they are both natives of corn-fields, both grow in them 

 in the greatefl abundance, often together, frequently feparate, nor is it unufual to find them on the confines 

 of dunghills, and by road-fides ; they both flower at the fame time, from May to July and Auguft, both are 

 annuals, and grow nearly to the fame height, but in the following particulars they differ : the whole plant in 

 the Matricaria puts on a deep green colour, and fomewhat mining appearance ; the Anthemis, on the con- 

 trary, affumes a much paler hue, and the ftalk is often covered with a land of woolly fubftance : the leaves 

 in the Matricaria are nearly as fine as thofe of fennel, which they diflantly refemble ; in the Anthemis they 

 are almofl twice as broad, and the points of them, which in the Matricaria are fimple, in the Anthemis are 

 often bifid. 



The Petals in both thefe plants begin to hang down in the evening, and continue to do fo till morning ; 

 but thofe of the Anthemis are in general much broader than thofe of the Matricaria, and fomewhat fhorter ; 

 but, in this particular, both plants are fubjecl to great variation ; the difk of the flower in the Anthemis is not 

 fo prominent, but of a lighter yellow than that of the Matricaria. Such are the characters which prefent 

 themfelves to the eye of an accurate obferver, but there is another which will greatly affift to corroborate^ 

 confirm, and render it impofiible for the plants to be miftaken, viz. the fmell ; if the heads of the Matricaria, 

 are bruifed, they will be found to emit a ftrong fmell, fomewhat refembling the true Chamomile, but not fo 

 pjeafant, while the heads of the Anthemis, treated in the fame manner, fmell intolerably difagreeable ; another 

 circumftance may alfo be added, the Matricaria is not known to blifler the fkin, in which alone it is perhaps 

 lefs mifchievous to the hufbandman than the other : nor is the character which may be drawn from the feeds to 

 be defpifed, thofe of the Anthemis being broad and truncated at top, wrinkly, and of a deep brown colour 

 when ripe, thofe of the Matricaria much fmaller, paler, and different in their fhape, vid.fig. 6. 



July 7th, we difcovered feveral larvae feeding on this fpecies, which produced the Caffida viriclis. — Cattle in 

 general refufe the Matricaria. — In Sweden the flowers are ufed medicinally inflead of the Anthemis nobilis. 



Mr. Hudson, in our opinion, is perfectly juftified, in making one plant of the Matricaria Chamomilla and 

 Jiiaveolens ; Mr. Lightfoot, in his Flora Scotica, previoufly fuggefted that they were the fame. We are 

 furprifed that ProfefTor Murray fhould adopt a fpecies founded on fuch vague characters as radiis defiexis 

 and radiis patentibus. 



