母菊 mu ju

Chamaemelum chamomilla (Linnaeus) E. H. L. Krause; Chamomilla recutita (Linnaeus) Rauschert; C. vulgaris Gray; Chrysanthemum chamomilla (Linnaeus) Bernhardi; C. suaveolens (Linnaeus) Cavanilles; Matricaria chamomilla var. recutita (Linnaeus) Fiori; M. chamomilla f. suaveolens (Linnaeus) Fiori & Paoletti; M. recutita Linnaeus; M. suaveolens Linnaeus.

Herbs, annual or short-lived perennial, glabrous. Stems (10-)30-40 cm tall, erect, striate, much branched in upper part. Proximal stem leaves sessile; leaf blade oblong or oblanceolate, (1.5-)3-4(-6) × (0.5-)1.5-2 cm, 2-pinnatisect; ultimate segments linear, apex mucronulate. Distal stem leaves similar to proximal leaves, ovate or long ovate. Capitula heterogamous, 1-1.5 cm in diam., apically corymbose, pedunculate; peduncle 3-6 cm. Involucres cup-shaped; phyllaries in 2 rows, margin broadly white scarious, apex obtuse. Ray florets white; lamina ca. 6 mm. Disk florets many, yellow, tubular. Achenes 0.8-1 mm, with 5 mainly adaxial thin ribs. Corona absent. Fl. and fr. May-Jul. 2n = 18.

Near fields, forests, above valleys; 1800-3300 m. Anhui, Hebei, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan; Europe, North America].

Matricaria chamomilla is cultivated as an ornamental in Beijing and Shanghai. Capitula of this species are used medicinally to induce sweat and relieve muscular spasms. The entire plant contains large amounts of Vitamins A and C.