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Anthemis tinctoria

Common name:	Yellow Camomile	Family:	Compositae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	89, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe - Mediterranean. A casual in Britain[17].
Habitat:	Sunny slopes, rocks, railway tracks and walls, usually on limestone[89].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cota tinctoria[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dyer's Chamomile [H], Gele Kamille [D], Golden Chamomile [P,B], Golden Marguerite [H], Mawth [E], Ox-eye Chamomile [H], Yellow Chamomile [L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	tinctoria = used in dyeing
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.8m by 0.8m . It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower in July, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies), flies and beetles. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, In Walls, In South Wall, In East Wall, In West Wall.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antispasmodic Emmenagogue Vesicant.

The whole plant is antispasmodic, diaphoretic, emetic, emmenagogue and vesicant[4]. It is used internally as a tea, which can be made either from the flowers or the whole plant[4]. Applied externally, it is used as a poultice on piles and can also be applied to the bath water[4].The leaves are rubbed onto insect stings[222].

Other Uses

Dye.

A distinctive yellow dye is obtained from the flowers[14, 17, 46, 61, 89, 169, 244].

Cultivation details

Prefers a well-drained sweet soil and a sunny position[1]. Grows well on chalk[187]. Plants succeed in maritime gardens[233].
Hardy to about -15° c[200]. Another report says that it is hardy to about -25° c[187].
This species has formerly been cultivated as a dye plant[61], the var. 'Kelawayi' is said to be the best form[169].
Plants are apt to over-flower and exhaust themselves. It is best to remove the flowering stems as soon as they stop flowering in order to stimulate the production of basal shoots for the following year[233].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow March/April in a greenhouse[134]. Do not allow the soil to dry out. Light aids germination. The seed usually germinates in 2 weeks at 20° c[134]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Cuttings of soft wood early summer in a frame. Very easy[K].
Division in spring or autumn[200].

Cultivars

'Kelawayi': This is the form most commonly cultivated as a dye plant and is the best form for this purpose[169].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for anthemis tinctoria (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[89] Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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