Thursday 19 February 2009

Herbs We Used to Know: Pineapple Weed (Matricaria discoidea)

I was just going through some folders of photos and came across some of Pineapple Weed, the image took me back to my childhood in Manchester where this deliciously fragrant herb used to grow abundantly on the waste ground. I recall picking small bunches of it and spending an afternoon squishing the flowers to release the fruity pineapple aroma, still to this day when I come across the plant I can't help but gather a piece to crush and sniff. Its also called Rayless Mayweed and as far as I can tell isn't a native of the UK, despite cropping up everywhere, I haven't been able to find out when it was introduced into this part of the world, so if anybody knows please let me know?

Beyond the scent of this fragrant wild plant I'd not investigated any further, its a useful 'time travel' plant, (wait I can now officially refer to it as a herb whooo hooooo!) time travel in so much that one whiff and I'm a kid again without a care in the world peddling around on my tricycle, but I digress... Out of curiosity just now I decided to look and see what I could discover about any potential uses for this fruity scented darling and was amazed to discover that it's perfectly edible!

You can eat the flower heads either raw or cooked, although what you'd put them in... Mmm wait, I can see them scattered on a chicken and pineapple salad or cooked in a light syrup and used to garnish fresh summer fruit salads, oh boy I can't wait until June when they'll be ready to harvest. Apparently the dried flowers are used to make tea which has a lovely pineapple scent and taste, which could be useful info to know for those people who don't like chamomile tea. They may prefer Pineapple Weed tea as it is sweeter and milder than chamomile. I can't wait to try for myself, and to think all these years I've done nothing but smell it! It can also used as an insect repellent, so would make a great addition to pot pourri and moth bags etc.
The flowering plant is antispasmodic, carminative, galactogogue, sedative, skin and vermifuge. Sadly it is rarely used medicinally these days, but in the past it was used to treat fevers, infected sores and stomach upsets. In some parts of the world it is still used to treat diarrhoea something it has in common with its counterpart Chamomile (Matricaria recutita), it is similar to chamomile in many of its medicinal qualities but much milder. It is also used to help ease flatulence, and is good for colds and menstrual problems. Externally it can be added to creams, salves and decotions used for treating itchy skin and sores.

I was amazed to discover on some of the American herb blogs that people have been experimenting and using pineapple weed for ages, in the UK it isn't one of the plants that spring to mind to harvest from Mother Nature's Larder unlike nettles, wild garlic and jack by the hedge, nor is it one that is focused on, which is bizarre as its so common, maybe its because its name self-brands it as a weed, therefore people avoid it? In the UK we seem to have a severe distrust of wild plants, everything we don't know is poisonous and to be avoided.

Okay there is sage wisdom in avoiding ingesting plants we know nothing about, and I'm always saying "If in doubt, DON'T", but where's the natural curiosity? And why isn't the media here exploring more wild plants, and showing us what we can eat from the wild? Helping people explore free food and seasonal delights beyond the common ones e.g. nettles, dandelions etc? Maybe the public will become more curious as the credit crunch bites deeper and they'll explore more wild plants? We can hope for more educational programmes, maybe even local councils will do more nature forage walks, now that I'd like to see! But since WWII in England we seem to have lost not only the ability to identify the wild free food, but those not in the know seem to scorn upon the collection and use of wild plants, so I won't hold my breath, and anyway if the public don't latch on to the benefits of all this free bounty, it'll mean more for those of us who understand its worth :)

I recall when I was little being told not to eat wild blackberries because they had worms inside, the same Auntie told me not to pick dandelions because they would make me wee the bed and I believed her, you tend to believe what adults tell you when you're 6! I was 15 before I discovered that blackberries and dandelions are not only safe to pick, they can do you more good than harm.

Warning
- Both Pineapple Weed and Chamomile are related to Ragweed and can actually cause violent allergic reactions in people who suffer from hay fever.

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