Matricaria recutita is an annual herb, 20-80 cm tall, pineapple-aromatic scented, branching.
Leaves alternate, twice pinnately divided, segments filament-like.
Flowers in heads about 2 cm wide, ray flowers white, 10-20, 0.4-1 cm long, disk 0.6-1 cm wide, flowers yellow; basal bracts membranous-margined, floral base (receptacle) cone-shaped, hollow, surface smooth (no scales); blooms and fruits May-Oct.
Fruit dry, a 1-seeded achene, indistinctly 5-ribbed.
Wetland status: UPL.
Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent.
Origin: Eurasia.
Habitat: Open habitats, roadsides.
Notes: This is one of the two major species of chamomile used traditionally as a medicine. The other species is Roman chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile (Medline Plus. 2007).