 German Chamomile
'Like a camomile bed -
The more it is trodden
The more it will spread,' |
Chamomile
| Synonyms for Chamomile: |
Scented Mayweed, Wild Chamomile. |
| Scientific name: |
Chamomilla recutita L. |
| Family: |
Compositae/Asteraceae (Daisy Family) |
Description
For some, chamomile probably brings back unpleasant memories of nasty tasting teas made by well-meaning mothers who only wanted the best for their children. Others may be reminded of colourful roadsides in the summer where chamomile provides fragrant yellow-and-white splashes of colour from May to June.
The annual or biennial plants, which can grow to a height of 50 cm, have finely divided leaves which peek out from beneath the closely packed flower heads like tips of a feather. Like all members of the daisy family the chamomile has a flower head composed of numerous individual florets: yellow ones with very short petals and individual florets with an additional long white petal. These form the characteristic white fringe around the flowerhead. German chamomile has many relatives which are difficult to distinguish from each other at first sight. A reliable distinguishing characteristic of German Chamomile is the hollow receptacle: if you carefully cut through a flowerhead you will find that it is hollow on the inside.
If you want to pick flowers to make chamomile tea, be sure to pay attention to this reliable feature as the very similar dog chamomile can produce unpleasant allergic reactions.
Habitat
Europe.
Constituents
Essential oils, e.g. matricine, chamazulene and alpha-bisabolol, as well as flavonoids and coumarins.
Uses
Chamomile has four main properties: it is anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, sedative and carminative. These are the basis for many of its uses. Chamomile tea soothes and relieves acute gastric complaints, chronic gastritis and stomach ulcers. Chamomile is used externally to treat poorly healing wounds and inflammation and irritation in the anal and vaginal areas.
It is an important medicinal herb for treatment of women's ailments. Rinsing or gargling with chamomile helps relieve inflammation of the mouth, throat and gums. Steam inhalation with chamomile can be used for treatment of chronic colds, catarrh, sore throats and sinusitis. In homeopathic medicine chamomile is used for hypersensitivity of the sense organs and sensory nerves, e.g. in facial neuralgia, stabbing headaches, inflamed eyes and ears, toothache and stabbing pains in the region of the digestive organs. Teething children can be soothed with chamomile.
Chamomile in Dr.Hauschka Skin Care
Chamomile is used for its anti-inflammatory properties, e.g. in Eye Solace, Cleansing Cream, Rhythmic Conditioner Sensitive, Rejuvenating Mask, Soothing Mask, Neem Hair Oil and Neem Nail Oil.
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