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My cousin Pen claims that pineapple weed, which my father used to give us as a tea before bed, is a narcotic and a hallucinogenic, and can make children wet the bed.
I can't find anything like that in an online search on it. But there seems to be tons of confusion about the plant. I've found at least three distinct Latin names which refer to plants which look quite alike in the photos.
Matricaria matricaioides
Chamomilla suaveolens
Matricaria discoidea
Wikipedia says...
According to ITIS the specific name is Matricaria discoides DC, but many synonyms are in the literature, including M. matricarioides, M. suaveolens, and Chamomilla suaveolens(an accepted name according to Flora Europaea).
Another site says...
Pineapple weed has many useful medicinal properties. In a tea, it acts to calm the nerves and stomach, as well as expel gas from the digestive tract. The plant when crushed and applied externally acts to hinder itching and sooth sores.
Yet another site...(yes, I should have saved the links when I had them. I can find them again.)
Pineapple weed is tasty as finger food or in salads. As with chamomile, pineapple weed is very good as a tea. In fact, I prefer it because it is sweeter. The Blackfoot Indians called it mat-o-at-sin, using the dried plant as a perfume. They often put it in buckskin bags for this very purpose. It was also used as an insect repellent. As a treatment for diarrhea, the whole plant was decocted. It is similar to chamomile in many of its medicinal qualities but much milder. It is used for stomachaches, flatulence, as a mild relaxant and for colds and menstrual problems. Externally it can be used for itching and sores.
The Dena ina K et una boiled pineapple weed and gave it to a mother after birth, believing it helped to bring in good healthy milk.
Another site...
At one time, a tea brewed from the leaves was used as a sedative.
Another site...
close relative of chamomile, which grows in sunny very poor soil, such as baseball diamonds and parking lots, has the same uses--make a tea with the leaves, flowers, and stems, and enjoy as a beverage, or to relieve nervous tension, stomach upset, and insomnia caused by stress.
Another site...
a carminative, vermifuge and antispasmodic
Then I searched on one of the latin names and it refered to that plant as 'disc mayweed,' although another site had differentiated between them specifically.
So, generally it is believed to soothe the nerves (sedative, given for insomnia - which is why my father gave it to us), calm stomach and intestinal upsets, and used externally to stop itching skin.
I can't find anything like that in an online search on it. But there seems to be tons of confusion about the plant. I've found at least three distinct Latin names which refer to plants which look quite alike in the photos.
Matricaria matricaioides
Chamomilla suaveolens
Matricaria discoidea
Wikipedia says...
According to ITIS the specific name is Matricaria discoides DC, but many synonyms are in the literature, including M. matricarioides, M. suaveolens, and Chamomilla suaveolens(an accepted name according to Flora Europaea).
Another site says...
Pineapple weed has many useful medicinal properties. In a tea, it acts to calm the nerves and stomach, as well as expel gas from the digestive tract. The plant when crushed and applied externally acts to hinder itching and sooth sores.
Yet another site...(yes, I should have saved the links when I had them. I can find them again.)
Pineapple weed is tasty as finger food or in salads. As with chamomile, pineapple weed is very good as a tea. In fact, I prefer it because it is sweeter. The Blackfoot Indians called it mat-o-at-sin, using the dried plant as a perfume. They often put it in buckskin bags for this very purpose. It was also used as an insect repellent. As a treatment for diarrhea, the whole plant was decocted. It is similar to chamomile in many of its medicinal qualities but much milder. It is used for stomachaches, flatulence, as a mild relaxant and for colds and menstrual problems. Externally it can be used for itching and sores.
The Dena ina K et una boiled pineapple weed and gave it to a mother after birth, believing it helped to bring in good healthy milk.
Another site...
At one time, a tea brewed from the leaves was used as a sedative.
Another site...
close relative of chamomile, which grows in sunny very poor soil, such as baseball diamonds and parking lots, has the same uses--make a tea with the leaves, flowers, and stems, and enjoy as a beverage, or to relieve nervous tension, stomach upset, and insomnia caused by stress.
Another site...
a carminative, vermifuge and antispasmodic
Then I searched on one of the latin names and it refered to that plant as 'disc mayweed,' although another site had differentiated between them specifically.
So, generally it is believed to soothe the nerves (sedative, given for insomnia - which is why my father gave it to us), calm stomach and intestinal upsets, and used externally to stop itching skin.