Chamomile and Daisies: Interesting Facts, Types, History and Meaning

The chamomile daisy seems the simplest of flowers — white petals, yellow centre. But the word covers several different plants, the flower has a rich history from ancient Egypt to medieval herbals, and the "loves me, loves me not" game is played across Europe. Here are fascinating facts about chamomile and daisies: how to tell true chamomile from garden daisies, where the name comes from, what's true about chamomile tea and which daisies go into bouquets. More flowers with photos, names and meanings are in our types of flowers guide. Learn more in daisies in a vase. This is a birth month flower; see April flowers.

View full-size photo

"Chamomile" is actually several plants

In Ukrainian and Russian, "romashka" means almost any flower with white ray petals and a yellow centre. Botanists distinguish several genera in the aster (daisy) family:

• German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) — short, with small flower heads and a strong sweet scent. The key sign: cut the yellow centre and it's hollow inside, while the centre itself is domed, almost conical. The petals fold down with age.
• Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) — the large "meadow daisy" of bouquets, up to 5–6 cm across. Garden daisies are mostly oxeye daisies and their hybrids (such as Shasta daisies).
• Scentless mayweed (Tripleurospermum inodorum) — looks like chamomile but has almost no scent and a solid centre. It grows as a weed in fields and on roadsides.
• Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) — a low, spreading plant with fragrant leaves, long used in England for "chamomile lawns".

Find even more look-alikes — from gerberas and osteospermum to echinacea — in our article on flowers that look like daisies.

Where the name comes from

View full-size photo

"Chamomile" goes back through Latin chamomilla to the Greek for "earth apple", thanks to the apple-like scent of the flowers. The Slavic "romashka" is usually traced via Polish "romanek" to Chamomilla romana, "Roman chamomile". The genus name Matricaria is linked to Latin matrix, "womb": medieval medicine considered chamomile a "women's" herb.

Ukrainian dialects have dozens of folk names for it — "pupavka" (for the yellow "navel" in the centre), "sonechnyk" (little sun), "divochnyk" (maiden's flower) — showing how closely it was tied to girls' rituals and fortune telling.

Chamomile through history

View full-size photo

• Ancient Egypt. Classical writers report that the Egyptians associated chamomile with the sun — its yellow disc ringed by white rays resembled it.
• Antiquity. Hippocrates, Dioscorides and Galen described chamomile as one of the most common medicinal plants.
• Middle Ages. Avicenna mentions chamomile in his Canon of Medicine. In England, "maythe" was one of the Nine Herbs of the Old English charm, and monastery gardens grew it alongside sage and mint.
• Modern times. Chamomile tea became one of the world's most popular herbal drinks — even Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit is given a dose of chamomile tea by his mother when he's unwell.

Chamomile tea: what the science says

German chamomile flowers are among the herbal substances covered by an official monograph from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). It recognises chamomile as a traditional herbal medicine for relieving minor digestive complaints such as bloating and, as rinses and compresses, mild irritation of the skin and mouth. "Traditional" means the use is based on long experience rather than rigorous clinical trials.

The popular claim that chamomile is a "natural sleeping pill" or "antidepressant" isn't backed by convincing research: small studies give mixed results. People allergic to plants of the daisy family (ragweed, mugwort, chrysanthemums) may react to chamomile.

This information is for general interest only and is not a substitute for medical advice.

View full-size photo

"Loves me, loves me not"

Plucking petals to the words "loves me, loves me not" is a game played all over Europe: in France it's effeuiller la marguerite, with the options "a little, a lot, passionately, madly, not at all"; in Germany, "loves me, from the heart, with pain, a little or not at all". The scene even appears in Goethe's Faust, where Margarete tells her fortune with a flower. For more floral fortune telling, see our article on Christmastide fortune telling.

View full-size photo

What the daisy symbolises

In the language of flowers the daisy stands for innocence, simplicity, loyalty and patience — it grows everywhere and withstands hardship. "Fresh as a daisy" means full of energy. Learn more in our article on the language of flowers.

Daisies in bouquets

Bouquets most often use oxeye daisies and daisy-type spray chrysanthemums — they last well in a vase and look soft and summery. Daisies pair beautifully with cornflowers, lavender, wheat ears, pink roses and eucalyptus. Browse ready-made options in our daisy bouquets.

View full-size photo

How to recognise German chamomile

Not every daisy-like flower is chamomile. True German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) has three tell-tale signs: a short plant (15–40 cm) with finely divided leaves; a strong pleasant scent when the flower is crushed; and, most importantly, a hollow cone-shaped receptacle visible when the yellow centre is cut in half. Scentless mayweed has a solid centre and hardly smells, while large garden ox-eye daisies belong to a different genus and aren’t used for tea.

FAQ

How can I tell German chamomile from a garden daisy?

German chamomile has a domed centre that's hollow inside, and small, fragrant flowers. A garden (oxeye) daisy is larger, with a solid centre and almost no scent.

Can I make tea from any daisy?

No — tea is made from German chamomile. It's best to buy it from a pharmacy rather than pick it by the roadside.

How long does a daisy bouquet last in a vase?

Oxeye daisies and daisy-type chrysanthemums last 7–10 days if you change the water and trim the stems.

Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

About the author →