Matricaria discoidea - Pineapple Weed

Synonyms

  • Artemisia matricarioides auct. non Less. [E-flora]
  • Chamomilla suaveolens (Pursh) Rydb. [E-flora]
  • Lepidanthus suaveolens (Pursh) Nutt. [E-flora]
  • Lepidotheca suaveolens (Pursh) Nutt. [E-flora]
  • Matricaria matricarioides [Turner&Kuhnlein][PCBC][E-flora]
  • Matricaria suaveolens (Pursh) Buchenau, non L. [E-flora]
  • Santolina suaveolens Pursh [E-flora]
  • Tanacetum suaveolens (Pursh) Hook. [E-flora]

General "Erect, multibranched, hairless" [WildPNW] Annual. [HNW][WildPNW] Up to 1 ft tall. [WeedsW]
Flowers "Flower heads 1 or many on 1-2 in. stalks." [WildPNW] "heads greenish-yellow;" [HNW] Ray flowers lacking.[WeedsW] "pineapple-shaped flower cones above the lacy pinnate leaves." [PSW] "disk flowers..., 4-toothed, 1.2-1.5 mm long".[IFBC-E-flora]
Fruits "Achenes, veined, beakless..." [PCBC] "glabrous; pappus a short, membranous crown." [IFBC-E-flora]
Leaves "Basal leaves usually withered by flowering time;"[PCBC] "leaves finely pinnately dissected;" [HNW] "stem leaves alternate...,1-3 times divided into short, very narrow segments." [IFBC-E-flora]
Stem "stems leafy, usually branched".[PCBC2004]
Root from a fibrous root.[IFBC-E-flora]
Properties A pineapple aroma [Seymour FNE] when crushed. [WeedsW]
Habitat "Pineapple weed specializes in hard-packed dirt." [Seymour FNE] Tolerant of trampling. [DPL Watts] Moist waste places. [WildPNW] "rarely solitary...Often found growing heneath the existing vegetation." [Seebeck BTWPC]
Range Common. [PCBC] common throughout BC. [IFBC-E-flora] North America.[WeedsW][WildPNW] Europe. [WildPNW] Pacific States. [PSW] "It has also become common and naturalised in Britain [4]" [Wiki]
Status Native. [WeedsW][WildPNW]
Similar Species

Hazards

Food

Other Uses

Medicinal Uses

Ethnobotany

Pharmacology

  • Analgesic. [Moerman NAEth]
  • Antiseptic (Tea) [Wildman]
  • Carminative. [Moerman NAEth][Wildman]
  • Laxative. [Moerman NAEth]
  • Nervine (Tea) [Wildman]
  • Tonic (Plant) [Moerman NAEth]
  • "It [flower tea] also has strong anti-bacterial properties and is reputed to have anti-inflammatory effects. "[Jones TDFB]

Phytochemistry

Essential Oil "The oil yield obtained by hydrodistillation was 0.1% (w/w) on dry weight basis." [Lopes&Kolodziejczyka]

  • myrcene (28.5% of essential oil) [Lopes&Kolodziejczyka]
  • (E)-β-farnesene (23.4% of essential oil) [Lopes&Kolodziejczyka]
  • germacrene D (6.8% of essential oil) [Lopes&Kolodziejczyka]
  • geranyl isovalerate (6.4% of essential oil) [Lopes&Kolodziejczyka]
  • (Z)-en-yn-dicycloether (8.1% of essential oil) [Lopes&Kolodziejczyka]
  • trans-β-farnesene [Arak et al.]
  • herniarin. (Coumarin)[Arak et al.]

Cultivation

"Don't be shy if you decide to transplant this herb. Dig one up during early spring, then stomp it into a hole with the heel of your shoe. The soil around the roots should be as tightly compressed as possible."[Ecoherb Tilford] "The plant favours the edges of inhabited areas and likes to pop up in compacted soil." [Jones TDFB]

Common Companion Herbs: "Yarrow, Mullein, Dandelion, Dock..."[Ecoherb Tilford]
Companion Plant: It's also reported a good companion plant for ailing flora. [Schofield]

Propagation

"Seed - sow spring or late summer in situ. Germination should take place within 3 weeks." [PFAF]

Matricaria Sp.

"Annual, sometimes aromatic. Stem: branched, erect or decumbent. Leaf: alternate, irregularly 2–3-pinnately lobed; segments linear; petiole short or 0. Inflorescence: heads radiate or discoid, 1–3; receptacle conic, epaleate; phyllaries in 2–3 unequal series, margins scarious. Ray flower: 0 or 10–25; ray white. Disk flower: many; corolla yellow, tubular, narrowed distally; anthers minute, tip ovate, base rounded or ± cordate; style short, branches truncate with bushy tips. Fruit: cylindric to obconic, gelatinous when wet (in California), 3–5-ribbed; pappus a narrow crown or 0.
7 species: Europe, Asia, North America. (Greek: womb, describing medicinal use) [Brouillet 2006 FNANM 19:540–542] Chamomilla nomenclaturally superseded by Matricaria." [Jepson]

Local Species;

  1. Matricaria discoidea - pineapple weed [E-flora][PCBC][TSFTK]
  2. Matricaria recutita - wild chamomile [E-flora][PCBC]

Matricaria recutita (Wild Chamomile)

  • "Habitat / Range Dry roadsides and disturbed areas in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC, ... introduced from Europe and N. Asia." [IFBC-E-flora]
  • Syn: "There has been considerable confusion over botanical classification since the plant formerly known as Matricaria recutita L. was added to the genus Chamomilla...". Matricaria chamomilla has also been used. Chamomilla recutita is the present name. [HNS Cohen]
  • Hazards: "may cause an allergenic sensitivity in susceptible individuals. It has caused contact dermatitis, anaphylaxis and other hypersensitive reactions in persons allergic to plants in the Asteraceae". Rare. [Tilgner HMHE]
  • Properties: "Sweet, aromatic, slightly bitter." [Tilgner HMHE]
  • Actions (Oil): "Chamomile oils analgesic, antianaphylactic, antiinflammatory, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, bactericidal, and fungicidal (PED)." [HMH Duke]
  • "Renowned for its sedative properties, a tea made from the fresh or dry flowers relieves insomnia, digestive disorders, travel sickness, and hyperactivity in children." Infusion used as a gargle for mouth ulcers, as an eyewash, or applied topically to soothe burns. [mcvicar GH]
  • Genital Herpes: "Chamomile oil was highly effective and demonstrated prospects of a potential topical therapeutic virucidal agent for the treatment of herpes genitalis". [Houghton EHMP]
  • Smoking Additive: "In Libya, the flower heads of chamomile were added to smoking tobacco (Nicotiana sp.) to enhance its flavor". [UAPDS]

Matricaria suaveolens (False-camomile)

References