Medicinal Monday - Sweet Smelling Chamomile

Chamomile is a flowering herb that looks similar to a tiny daisy.  It has a gentle floral aroma that has made this herb popular as a flavorful and aromatic herb for centuries. Native Americans among many others have found medicinal uses for this delicate and attractive herb.

About Chamomile

There are two types of Chamomile, German and Roman chamomile and Native Americans use Chamaemelum nobile, commonly called Roman chamomile. Both types of chamomile belong to the Asteraceae family.  Typically growing three to six inches tall this evergreen perennial forms a spreading mat of aromatic fern-like foliage across the landscape.  The plant spreads by creeping stems that root as they grow. Tiny daisy-like flowers with white petals and bright yellow centers bloom throughout the summer and into the early fall. The delicate fern-like foliage emits a fruity scent when bruised and the flowers are often plucked and dried for medicinal uses.

Medicinal Uses

The Cherokee make tea from chamomile flowers to treat premenstrual symptoms and as a treatment to relax and soothe the patient. They also make a poultice from the flowers and leaves in the treatment of external swelling, inflammatory pain and as an application to treat a toothache or earache.  The Mahina make a tea from the flowers to treat babies suffering from colic and to soothe upset stomachs.

Did You Know

German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is taller than Roman chamomile, it has similar flowers but it is an annual not a perennial.  The cone inside the center of the daisy in Roman chamomile is solid and in German chamomile it is hollow.

The name chamomile comes from Greek meaning "apple on the ground" in reference to the plant's apple-like aroma.

The ancient Egyptians compared the head of this flower to the sun and dedicated it to their sun god Re.

Roman chamomile is known as a medicinal plant from the middle ages where it was used beginning in the 16th century as a painkiller, diuretic, and digestive aid.

This herb is used to make a rinse for blonde hair.

About The Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 acres of woodland acres the IAIS preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs. We have a 16^th c. Algonquian Village, Award-Winning Wigwam Escape, and a museum with temporary and permanent displays of authentic artifacts from prehistory to the present that allows visitors to foster a new understanding of the world and the history and culture of Native Americans. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road, Washington, CT.