When you look near barnyards, roadsides, or other disturbed areas this time of year, you may notice a low-growing weedy plant with finely divided leaves, and a yellowish-green flower head. I suspect most people dismiss this plant as just another weed, but its common name pineapple weed, or perhaps wild chamomile, indicates something a little different. Botanists know this introduced plant as Matricaria discoidea.
A smell similar to that of pineapple is quite noticeable when one crushes the plant with their fingers. But, of course, it’s not a pineapple. Pineapple weed is a member of the aster family (Asteraceae), and as such is a distant relative of the pineapple plant which belongs to the bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae).
Pineapple weed is a small, hairless, many-branched annual with deeply divided leaves 1-2" long that grows to between 4-8" in height. The flower heads are yellowish-green cone-shaped structures around 1/4 to 1/3" across without ray flowers. As a member of the aster family, what look like petals are ray flowers, while the “head” consists of disk flowers. And crushing the leaves produces a sweet smell similar to that of pineapple, thus the common name.
Eating and drinking pineapple weed
Pineapple weed is a close relative of chamomile, the fragrant herb widely used in teas. And like chamomile, pineapple weed can be used to make an interesting tea which has been used as an herbal remedy for such things as stomach problems. The young flower buds may also be cleaned and added to a salad, but the plant becomes quite bitter as the flowers begin to mature.
Sea Mayweed
Another introduced and more conspicuous relative of pineapple weed is also flowering now: Scentless chamomile, also called sea mayweed.
It is a 2-3 foot tall annual or short-lived perennial that resembles a white flowered daisy with a yellow center. The leaves are alternate and dissected into fine thread-like segments. It also prefers disturbed habitats such as roadsides, gravel parking lots, sandy or gravely shorelines, and similar habitats. But as the common name implies, scentless chamomile has no noticeable aroma.
