Anthemis

Anthemis 

a genus of plants of the family Compositae. The plants include perennial and annual herbs and, sometimes, sub-shrubs. The leaves are pinnatifid or divided. The inflorescences are heads with an imbricate spathe and a laminate flower receptacle. The rays are usually yellow or white, ligulate, and pistillate; the disks are tubular, bisexual, and yellow. The fruit is an achene.

There are more than 150 species of Anthemis in Eurasia and North America. Approximately 50 species are found in the USSR, predominantly in the Caucasus. The golden marguerite, or yellow chamomile (A. tinctoria), grows in the northern half of the European USSR, where it is encountered in fallow fields, wastelands, dry meadows, and among cultivated crops. Its flowers yield a yellow dye for fabrics; they also have insecticidal properties. The stinking mayweed (A. cotula) grows nearly throughout the European USSR and in the Caucasus, where it is a weed amid spring crops. The golden marguerite, the Carpathian chamomile (A. carpatica), and A. montana are raised as ornamentals.