Dalmatian chamomile: description and application

The native of warm Mediterranean and Central Asian lands - Dalmatian chamomile - has quite successfully taken root in temperate Russian latitudes. However, it is called chamomile only for its resemblance to a known plant. In fact, kinship is very distant, and the official name sounds foreign to solid foreign, and therefore unusual for the Russian ear - feverfew. It is about this culture, its features, use in everyday life and garden design that will be discussed in this publication.

What is feverfew?

Representing perennials from a vast family of Compositae, or astroids, these plants form a strong rosette of radical leaves with a lot of strongly branched ribbed shoots ending in chamomile inflorescences of different colors, the color of which depends on the species or plant variety. Lovely bushes long and generously bloom, than have won the love and recognition of gardeners in many countries of the world. Note that different varieties of culture have different names - Persian, Caucasian, etc.

The well-developed root system of the plant is adapted to different growth conditions: the main root goes deep, giving a considerable amount of accessory roots, forming new bushes. Decorative in the plant all the parts: flowers, leaves, is appreciated by gardeners, the overall neat compact form of the bush and the enviable unpretentiousness of the culture. Leaves of noble gray or bright green hues are figuratively dissected and in many species are pubescent. Inflorescences of different varieties are diverse: here and small, daisy-like white and yellow flowers, pomponoid, without a sharply outlined middle, single-row and double daisies of bright exotic flowers - red, pink, purple.

In the southern regions of the country, pyrethrums, growing, reach 0.7-0.9 m in height, in temperate latitudes - up to 0.2-0.5 m. But we note that there are many varieties of plants, the growth, flowering and coloring of the inflorescences Each of them is very individual. We, from all the huge species diversity, will choose pyrethrum cinerarielist (Dalmatian chamomile), used both in garden decoration and for medicinal purposes, and we will talk about its features.

Chamomile Dalmatian in the garden

Cultivated as an ornamental plant, this species of pyrethrum is very attractive in mixborders and rabatkah. No less popular curbs and touching daisy islands, revitalizing the stone placers of alpine hills. But decorative pyrethrum Cineraria is not the only virtue of culture. It is also distinguished by the high toxicity of all parts: aboveground and root systems. A plant that is completely harmless to humans is poisonous to insects that live in the garden, and therefore sites with pyrethrum plantings are always well protected from pests.

Description of cinerarial pyrethrum

Perennial Dalmatian chamomile grows to 0.5-0.7 m in height. At the base of the bush, the stems are lignified, poorly leafy, they branch strongly at the top of the shoots, often forming a whole sphere of many inflorescences - baskets 3-6 cm in diameter, such small chamomiles formed by two kinds of flowers: the middle tubular yellow and marginal white reed with oblong bend. Fruit that emerges after flowering is a brown-yellow seed. Remarkable is the aroma of the plant, similar to the smell of wormwood, it warns and discourages unwanted alien insects. Blossoms Dalmatian chamomile in June, the ripening of fruits begins in July.

Habitat

The southern origin of culture affects its not always successful spread in the temperate and northern latitudes of our country. Often pyrethrum (chamomile Dalmatian) suffers from the instability of weather conditions inherent in these climatic zones. Perhaps, this circumstance caused the fact that for a long time (until the middle of the last century) the plant was not cultivated in Russia. Today, these touching flowers, planted as annual crops, decorate the domestic garden areas.

In the wild nature of temperate and northern belts of Russia this plant does not grow. It can be found only in the mountain regions of the south of Europe. In the same latitudes pyrethrum is bred on an industrial basis.

Application in everyday life and medicine

Due to the presence of strong insecticidal substances - pyrethrin and cinerer, accumulated mainly in the inflorescences, - Dalmatian chamomile, ground to powder, has long been used in many countries as a very effective tool in the fight against pest insects of garden and agricultural crops. In pre-revolutionary Russia powder from dried chamomile imported from foreign countries, fleeing from domestic insects and parasites: fleas, bedbugs, cockroaches, lice. And today the natural insecticides present in the plant are part of many special means.

Medical application of culture is also very specific: feverfew (dalmatian chamomile) and extracts based on it are successfully used in the treatment of scabies and for achieving a helminthic effect.

Growing of feverfew

Chamomile Dalmatian, the description of which would be incomplete without listing the main stages of agrotechnical measures, is unpretentious and does not pretend to pay special attention to the gardener, but it grows noticeably better on sunny places with loose, drained, slightly alkaline soils. Seeds are sown in the soil in May, if necessary, use a seedling method of reproduction. Like many gardeners, pyrethrum (Dalmatian chamomile) loves moderate watering and periodic weeding. In response to care, the culture blossoms noticeably longer and does not lose its decorative qualities until the end of the summer.