Chamomile (Huang Chu Ju)

Botanical Name: Chamaemelum nobile (Roman or English Chamomile), Matricaria recutita (German Chamomile)

Chamomile is documented as being one of the most popular teas sold in the U.S. and Europe. It is a gentle but highly effective herb famous as a cure-all but best known for soothing digestion, aiding sleep, and helping to soothe skin rashes and bruises. This herb is often used in magical formulas to help protect the body, mind, and spirit from negative energies and forces. The flowers can be both warming and cooling.

Watch a short video, from Ann Christensen, Founder and Creator of White Rabbit Institute of Healing™ – Roman vs. German Chamomile…

Below is an overview of chamomile, combining the best of Western Science, Oriental Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Shamanism, Folklore, and a wide range of healing modalities. Gain a balanced and thorough understanding of the healing properties of chamomile.

Parts Most Frequently Used: Flower, Whole Plant​

Flavors/Temps: Roman – Bitter, Slightly Sweet, Aromatic. German – Sweet, Aromatic.

Caution: Considered safe. Some people allergic to flowers in the Asteraceae (Daisy) family may be allergic to chamomile.

Key Constituents: Apigenin (a Flavone), Quercetin, Alpha-bisabolol, Sesquiterpenes, Terpenoids, Flavonoids, Coumarins, Umbelliferone, Phenylpropanois, Chlorogenic acid, Caffeic acid, Calcium, Potassium, Volatile oils

History/Folklore: Chamomile has been used since ancient times by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. In the Middle Ages, it was popular for treating colds, fevers, inflammations, and nausea. The herb can be used internally or externally. It is one of the most ancient medicinal herbs known to mankind and is used the world over.

The Egyptians offered the flowers to their Sun God Ra, and the Germans referred to the herb as “capable of anything.”

German (Matricaria recutita) and Roman Chamomile (Chamomaeelum nobile) are two different species of plants that have very similar healing properties. Roman chamomile is the plant best known and studied as a medicinal herb. It is often called “true chamomile or Russian or English chamomile,” it is a popular ground cover plant and German chamomile can grow to be 1 to 2 feet tall. It is often best used as an inhalant to treat respiratory infections and as a food and beverage flavoring. In Germany, it is used in cosmetics, soaps, and mouthwashes. Both are used to treat digestive disorders, anxiety, and insomnia.

The name “chamomile” derives from the Greek “chamoemelon” meaning “earth apple” because its fragrance resembles apples. The Latin name “Matricaria” derives from “matrix” meaning “womb” or “mater” meaning “mother”, a reference to the herb’s ability to aid female complaints.

The plant, manzanilla, also called pineapple weed, has similar uses as the German and Roman chamomiles. In Mexican folklore it is used to soothe the stomach, ease digestion and support strong lungs preventing asthma and allergies. The Spanish wine flavored with manzanilla means “little apples”. Its Welsh name is “camri” meaning footsteps or walk, as Roman chamomile grows so close to the ground.

In the Middle Ages chamomile flowers were strewn about the floor and home to sweeten the air.

Culpeper said, “A decoction made of Camomile, and drank, taketh away all pains and stitches in the side…The flowers of Camomile beaten, and made into balls with oil, drive away all sorts of agues.”

The Mayans made tea with chamomile, orange, and lime leaves to lift the spirit.

Before refrigeration, meat was immersed in a chamomile infusion to prevent it from spoiling.

Native American Indians have used the various chamomiles in a variety of ways, often making use of the whole plant. Different tribes had different purposes that included teas for stomach bloating, regulating the bowels, and making perfume from the crushed dry flowers.

Related species, Asterales cotula or Anthemis cotula, commonly called dog fennel, stinking chamomile, or May weed were once widely used in the United States to promote sweating in chronic rheumatism. Often confused with true or Roman chamomile, it is easy to tell the difference by crushing a few leaves and flowers between your fingers. Chamomile has a lovely scent and dog fennel does not!

In China, chrysanthemum would be the flower that is most similar to how we use chamomile in the West. Both herbs calm and soothe and have overlapping functions. However, chrysanthemum is more closely associated with Wind Heat conditions, such as red eyes and sore throats, while Chamomile is more closely associated with soothing digestion. Western chamomile is not a plant traditionally used in Chinese Medicine, and chrysanthemums are commonly used. Today, chamomile has become popular in China for treating anxiety, colds, and digestive disorders.

To extract the oil from the plants most manufacturers use steam distillation. Roman chamomile contains more oils than the German variety. The whole plant can be used but the flowers are the most potent. The flowers are harvested when the plant is in full bloom. Most of the medicinal properties are found in the blue volatile oil contained in the flowers.

Chamomile is known to be an aid to other plants in the garden as well. It is called the “plant’s physician” as it helps cure plants that it is planted near, also keeping them free of insects and pests. Even bees do not like the scent of chamomile and will not go near it. It is also used as a protection plant for people. By sprinkling the oil around doors and windows negative energy is prevented from entering the home. Roman chamomile can be planted instead of grass as it can withstand being walked on and will, in fact, release its fragrance in the process.

Chamomile has been used in hair shampoos for its ability to lighten blonde highlights in hair, and in lotions and creams for its fragrance and skin-soothing abilities.

Chamomile is used as a flavoring in the liqueurs Benedictine and vermouth. The dried flowers can be used as incense to help promote sleep. And studies have shown that the plant may even aid kidney functions.

Chamomile is very safe so it is often used to treat children for restlessness, poor sleep, and upset stomachs. In homeopathy, it is used to treat childhood toothaches, earaches, colic, and headaches.

Chamomile is a symbol for energy in action or adversity. It is an herb of the sun and is therefore associated with regeneration, healing, and protection. The apple, which it is sometimes said to smell like, was a sun plant totem for Ancient Greeks. For these reasons, it was planted on graves as a symbol of rebirth, in the same way, that the sun rises and is reborn each morning.

Chamomile was a sacred herb of the midsummer festivals and was thrown onto the festival fires, put into ritual cups for drinking, and made into garlands used to decorate the ceremonial areas.