Chamomile

Matricaria chamomilla

Family: Asteraceae Part used: Flowers

Key Compounds

• Apigenin
• Bisabolol
• Chamazulene
• Matricine
• Herniarin
• Luteolin
• Quercetin

Traditional Use

• European folk medicine tea — documented since ancient Egypt, c.1550 BCE
• Traditional cosmetic ingredient in Central European apothecary traditions
• Ceremonial and household herb in ancient Greek and Roman culture
• Strewing herb in medieval European homes and churches

There are herbs with more impressive names. More exotic origins. More complicated chemistry. Chamomile is not one of them. It looks like a wildflower a child would draw — small white petals, yellow button centre, feathery leaves — and it smells, unmistakably, of apple.

And yet this unremarkable little plant has been showing up in human records for 3,500 years. That is longer than the Roman Empire lasted. It was already old news by the time Julius Caesar was born.

Meet the plant

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) is a slender annual in the Asteraceae family — same enormous family as sunflowers, daisies, dandelions, and echinacea. Grows 15–60 cm tall, much-branched, with finely divided fern-like leaves. Native to southern Europe and western Asia, naturalised practically everywhere on earth that has seasons, including all of Japan.

The flowers are small, daisy-like heads: white ray florets surrounding a yellow domed disc. When those white petals bend backward — a movement called reflexing — that is your harvest signal. The plant is telling you it’s ready.

Here is the one feature worth remembering: the flower receptacle (the base under the yellow disc) is hollow and conical. Roman chamomile’s is solid. You cannot see this from the outside — you have to cut the flower open. Nobody at a dinner party will thank you for this information, but it is the definitive field test when you are standing in front of two plants that look almost identical.

The name comes from Greek khamaimelon: khamai (on the ground) + melon (apple). Named entirely for the scent. The Greeks knew exactly what mattered.

3,500 years of people being obsessed with this

The oldest known written record of chamomile is in the Ebers Papyrus, c. 1550 BCE — one of the oldest surviving medical documents on earth, written in hieratic script on papyrus and discovered at Luxor in 1873. Chamomile is in it.

Ancient Egyptians dedicated it to Ra, the sun god. Look at a chamomile flower and you can see why — yellow disc, white petals radiating outward, it looks like a child’s drawing of the sun. The Egyptians did not dedicate unremarkable plants to their most important deity. This was a compliment.

By the first century CE, Dioscorides had included it in De Materia Medica — the botanical reference text that remained the standard for 1,500 years after his death. He recorded both external preparations and drinking it as a beverage. People were already making chamomile tea in ancient Rome. This is not a new idea.

Across medieval Europe, chamomile was a staple of monastery physic gardens — the monasteries being the hospitals of their time. German communities gave it the folk name alles zutraut: “capable of anything.” That is not a name you give a plant that does one thing.

John Gerard wrote about it in The Herball (1597). Nicholas Culpeper included it in his Complete Herbal (1653). The London Pharmacopoeia officially listed it in 1618. The German Commission E approved a monograph for it in 1984. The European Medicines Agency has a current monograph. The record is unbroken.

Hungary is the world’s largest commercial producer today — the Danube plain is apparently ideal chamomile country. Germany, Egypt, and Argentina also produce commercially.

The chemistry that surprised everyone

The flower heads contain over 120 identified compounds in the essential oil alone. Here are the three with the best stories.

Chamazulene is the headline. The fresh chamomile flower contains no blue. None at all. But when you steam-distil chamomile into essential oil, a compound called matricine breaks down under heat and transforms into chamazulene — which is a vivid, almost electric blue. The famous deep blue of chamomile essential oil is created entirely by this process. The colour does not exist in the plant until you process it. This is one of the better plot twists in botanical chemistry, and it surprises almost everyone who hears it.

α-Bisabolol is often the largest component of the oil, up to 50%. Here is its interesting origin story: it was first isolated not from chamomile but from Vanillosmopsis erythropappa — a Brazilian tree called candeia that most people have never heard of. When researchers later found bisabolol in chamomile, they were genuinely surprised. The obscure Brazilian tree got there first.

Apigenin is a flavonoid present in both free form and as apigenin-7-glucoside (apigetrin). Chamomile is one of the richest plant sources. Among the most studied flavonoids in botanical chemistry, full stop.

What people actually do with it

Tea — Steep 2–3 g of dried flowers in 150 mL of hot water for 5–10 minutes. Important: cover the cup or pot while it steeps. Chamomile’s aromatic compounds are volatile — they escape with the steam. A lid keeps them where they belong, which is in your cup, not floating around your kitchen. The result is pale yellow, gently fragrant, and tastes like a lighter version of the scent.

Essential oil — Steam distillation of the flowers produces the blue oil. Yield is very low (0.3–1.5% of dry flower weight), which is why genuine chamomile essential oil is expensive. A lot of “chamomile” in budget skincare products is synthetic azulene or Roman chamomile oil. Worth knowing when you are reading labels.

Tincture — Dried flowers macerated in an ethanol/water mixture. A standard preparation in European pharmacy with a documented history running back centuries.

Cosmetic preparations — Chamomile extract has been used in Central European skin care and hair products for centuries, particularly in Germany and Austria. In Japan, カモミールエキス — the INCI-standard name you will find on Japanese product labels — is a listed ingredient in many mainstream skincare products. If you are reading the back of a Japanese toner or lotion and see those characters, that is what they refer to.

Could you grow this yourself?

Yes. And it is not difficult.

Chamomile likes well-draining soil, a reasonable amount of sun, and to be largely left alone. The seeds are almost dust-fine and require light to germinate — scatter them on the surface rather than burying them. At 18–20°C, you will see seedlings in one to two weeks.

In Japan: sow in autumn (September–October) for spring flowers, or in early spring (February–March) if you are in a cooler region. Expect flowers from April through June.

Harvest signal: when the white ray florets begin to bend backward. This is the peak for aromatic compound content. Harvest in the morning after the dew has dried. Dry at below 40°C to preserve the volatiles — a dehydrator on its lowest setting or a shaded, ventilated spot both work.

Once chamomile has established in a garden, it tends to self-seed. You will likely find it returning the following year without your help. Whether this feels like loyalty or territorial expansion is a matter of perspective.

Chamomile (カモミール) in Japan

The word カミツレ tells a history in eight characters. It comes directly from Dutch kamille. During Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868), the Netherlands was the only Western nation permitted to trade with Japan, operating through the Dejima trading post — a small artificial island in Nagasaki harbour, Japan’s single sanctioned window to the West. Dutch merchants, Dutch goods, and Dutch plant names came through that narrow channel. Chamomile was one of them.

The modern name カモミール reflects post-war westernisation. Both names are still used, though カモミール has become dominant. On older Japanese packaging and in some pharmacy contexts you may also encounter the kanji form 甘菊 (kankiku, literally “sweet chrysanthemum”) — a reminder that even after the Western name arrived, Japanese botanical naming tried to locate the plant within its own visual vocabulary.

The 1970s ハーブティー boom brought chamomile into mainstream Japanese kitchens. Today it is sold at 健康食品店 (health food stores), ハーブ専門店 (herb specialty shops), 自然食品店 (natural food shops), and tea specialty stores nationwide. It also appears in many 薬局 (pharmacies), stocked alongside other botanical teas in the health supplement aisle. Natural House and Organic House chains stock it reliably. Amazon Japan and Rakuten have a large selection. Hokkaido has small commercial cultivation — the cooler climate suits temperate European herbs well, and some 道の駅 (roadside markets) in Hokkaido sell locally grown dried chamomile.

カモミールエキス is a mainstream ingredient in Japanese skincare. The natural and organic lifestyle movement in Japan has made chamomile familiar far beyond the tea shelf.

For many Japanese people, chamomile tea is the first herbal tea they ever tried. It is the herb that starts the story.

Frequently asked questions

What is chamomile exactly? A small annual flowering herb (Matricaria chamomilla) native to Europe and western Asia. Looks like a tiny daisy, smells like apple, has been documented in human records for over 3,500 years. Grows to about the height of a ruler, occasionally more. Easy to grow. Tends to come back once established.

Why is chamomile essential oil blue? A compound called chamazulene forms during steam distillation from a precursor called matricine. The fresh flower contains no blue. The colour is created entirely by the heat of distillation — it does not exist in the plant beforehand.

German chamomile vs Roman chamomile — are they the same? No. Different species. German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) has a hollow flower receptacle; Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) has a solid one. Both smell similar. You have to cut the flower to tell them apart.

How old is chamomile’s documented history? At least 3,500 years, from the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE, ancient Egypt). Dioscorides documented it around 50–70 CE. Medieval European monks cultivated it. The German Commission E and the European Medicines Agency both have current monographs. The record is uninterrupted.

Does chamomile grow well in Japan? Very well across most of Japan. Sow seeds on the soil surface in autumn or early spring; flowers arrive April through June. Self-seeds once established, so after the first year you may find it appearing without being planted.

Where can I buy chamomile tea in Japan? At 健康食品店, ハーブ専門店, 自然食品店, and 薬局 nationwide. Natural House and Organic House chains are reliable. Amazon Japan and Rakuten carry a large selection. For locally grown Japanese chamomile, check 道の駅 in Hokkaido.

Botanical details

The full compound list

See Also

• Lavender — another herb with a long European botanical record and devoted following in Japan
• Echinacea — North American botanical in the same Asteraceae family
• Peppermint — the other gateway herb; between chamomile and peppermint, most herbal journeys begin

References

• Wichtl, M. (Ed.). (2004). Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals (3rd ed.). Medpharm Scientific Publishers.
• European Medicines Agency. (2015). Community herbal monograph on Matricaria recutita L., flos. EMA/HMPC/55843/2011.
• Orav, A., Raal, A., & Arak, E. (2010). Content and composition of the essential oil of Chamomilla recutita from some European countries. Natural Product Research, 24(1), 48–55.
• McKay, D. L., & Blumberg, J. B. (2006). A review of the bioactivity and potential health benefits of chamomile tea. Phytotherapy Research, 20(7), 519–530.
• Srivastava, J. K., Shankar, E., & Gupta, S. (2010). Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Molecular Medicine Reports, 3(6), 895–901.