Scentless Chamomile: Taxonomy, Ecology, and Control

INTRODUCTION Corn or scentless chamomile (Anthemis arvensis L.) is an annual flowering plant (forb) native to much of Europe, parts of Northern Africa, and Asia. It has become naturalized in North America, southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. By 1995, it had been found in 37 of the lower 48 states, including the adjacent states of California, Oregon, and Idaho. In northern Nevada it can be found in the Quinn River Valley, near Orovada, and possibly other locations. Scentless chamomile has been listed as a noxious weed in Colorado, and is a very close relative to mayweed chamomile or dog fennel (Anthemis cotula L.), also known as stinking mayweed and dog fennel. Mayweed chamomile is a serious problem weed in grain and forage crops throughout the United States, and also may interfere with crop harvest. Because of many similarities (size, shape, phenology, etc.) between scentless chamomile and mayweed chamomile, scentless chamomile has the potential to become a serious problem weed in agricultural areas throughout Nevada. It has no known economic uses and may adversely affect (taint) milk if consumed by dairy cattle.