Mayweed. Chamomile.
Anthemis Cotula. Composite Family (p. [13]).
Stem.—Branching. Leaves.—Finely dissected. Flower-heads.—Composed of white ray and yellow disk-flowers, resembling the common white daisy.
In midsummer the pretty daisy-like blossoms of this strong-scented plant are massed along the roadsides. So nearly a counterpart of the common daisy do they appear that they are constantly mistaken for that flower. The smaller heads, with the yellow disk-flowers crowded upon a receptacle which is much more conical than that of the daisy, and the finely dissected, feathery leaves, serve to identify the Mayweed. The country-folk brew “chamomile tea” from these leaves, and through their agency raise painfully effective blisters in an emergency.
New Jersey Tea. Red-root.
Ceanothus Americanus. Buckthorn Family.
Root.—Dark red. Stem.—Shrubby, one to three feet high. Flowers.—White, small, clustered. Calyx.—White, petal-like, five-lobed, incurved. Corolla.—With five long-clawed hooded petals. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One, with three stigmas.
This shrubby plant is very common in dry woods. In July its white feathery flower-clusters brighten many a shady nook in an otherwise flowerless neighborhood. During the Revolution its leaves were used as a substitute for tea.
Bastard Toadflax.
Comandra umbellata. Sandalwood Family.
Stem.—Eight to ten inches high, branching, leafy. Leaves.—Alternate, oblong, pale. Flowers.—Greenish-white, small, clustered. Calyx.—Bell or urn-shaped. Corolla.—None. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One.
The bastard toadflax is commonly found in dry ground, flowering in May or June. Its root forms parasitic attachments to the roots of trees.