Materia Aromatica

Chamomile · A Field of Cousins

Five genera share one name. The chamomiles, laid out as a family.

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Chamomile is not a single plant. The name is applied across the daisy family to oils from five genera, and they share neither colour nor chemistry. A blue oil may be German chamomile or blue tansy. A pale one may be Roman chamomile, or a plant related to it only by family.

01 · The Genus

Five genera, one family

All of these plants belong to the Asteraceae, whose flower heads are composite: each daisy is a cluster of many small florets. Within the family the oils divide by chemistry rather than by common name.

German chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla, is an annual of Europe and western Asia. Its oil is led by farnesene and the bisabolol oxides, and turns blue in the still as matricin converts to chamazulene. Roman chamomile, Anthemis nobilis, is a low perennial of Western Europe, pale in the bottle and built on angelate esters. Blue tansy, Tanacetum annuum, an annual of Morocco and the western Mediterranean, shares chamazulene with German chamomile and adds camphor and sabinene. Moroccan wild chamomile, from the genus Ormenis, and Cape chamomile, Eriocephalus punctulatus from South Africa, carry the name and none of the defining chemistry of either true chamomile.

Chamazulene

The blue oils

German chamomile and blue tansy. The colour forms during distillation, not in the flower.

Angelate esters

Roman chamomile

Pale, sweet and fruity. Isobutyl and isoamyl angelate lead.

Monoterpenes

Wild chamomile

Ormenis. Alpha-pinene and santolina alcohol, with 1,8-cineole.

Short-chain esters

Cape chamomile

Eriocephalus. Fruity butanoates, unrelated in profile to the true chamomiles.

Side by side

7 oils at a glance

Oil Botanical name Origin Cultivation Main constituents From Availability
Chamomile, Blue (organic) Matricaria chamomilla Nepal Certified organic trans-beta-Farnesene, alpha-Bisabolol oxide, trans-alpha-... $29.00 In stock
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil (Organic) Anthemis nobilis Hungary Certified organic Isobutyl angelate, Isoamyl angelate, Methylallyl angelate... $68.00 In stock
Blue Tansy / Blue Chamomile (Organic) Tanacetum annuum Morocco Wild-crafted organic Camphor, Sabinene, Chamazulene, 3,6 - Dihydrochamazulene $65.00 In stock
Cape Chamomile / Eriocephalus punctulatus Eriocephalus punctulatus South Africa Wild Isobutyl 2-Methylbutanoate, Isobutyl Isobutanoate, 2-Meth... $23.00 In stock
Chamomile, Wild (organic) Ormenis multicaulis et mixta Morocco Wild alpha-Pinene, Santolina alcohol, 1,8-Cineol, trans-beta-F... $38.00 In stock
Chamomile Blue, Egypt (Organic) Matricaria chamomilla Egypt Certified organic alpha-Bisabolol-Oxide A & B, trans-beta-Farnesene, alpha-... $43.00 In stock
Chamomile, Blue CO2 (Organic) Matricaria chamomilla Serbia Certified organic alpha-Bisabolol, Farnesene $50.00 In stock

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02 · The Range

Seven oils, five genera

No. 1680 · NepalChamomile, Blue (organic)Matricaria chamomilla · certified organicTrans-beta-farnesene leads, with alpha-bisabolol oxide. Deep blue. No. 1700 · EgyptChamomile Blue, Egypt (Organic)Matricaria chamomilla · certified organicBisabolol oxides A and B lead. Sweeter, with a fruit-like opening. No. 1689 · SerbiaChamomile, Blue CO2 (Organic)Matricaria chamomilla · certified organicLow-temperature extraction. Alpha-bisabolol and farnesene, less chamazulene. No. 1720 · HungaryRoman Chamomile Essential Oil (Organic)Anthemis nobilis · certified organicIsobutyl, isoamyl and methylallyl angelate. Sweet and apple-like. No. 1690 · MoroccoBlue Tansy / Blue Chamomile (Organic)Tanacetum annuum · wild-crafted organicCamphor and sabinene over chamazulene. Deep indigo. No. 1731 · MoroccoChamomile, Wild (organic)Ormenis multicaulis et mixta · wildAlpha-pinene and santolina alcohol. Sweet, balsamic and fresh. No. 1346 · South AfricaCape Chamomile / Eriocephalus punctulatusEriocephalus punctulatus · wildShort-chain esters. Intensely fruity, with a boiled-sweet top.

03 · Side by Side

Colour, origin, method

The three Matricaria oils make a closed study. Chamomile, Blue (No. 1680) from Nepal and Chamomile Blue, Egypt (No. 1700) differ by origin. Farnesene leads the Nepalese oil and the bisabolol oxides lead the Egyptian, which reads sweeter. Chamomile, Blue CO2 (No. 1689) changes the method. Carbon dioxide extraction runs without the heat of the still, less matricin converts, and the extract sits closer to the composition of the fresh flower.

Blue Tansy (No. 1690) beside Chamomile, Blue (No. 1680) separates the two blue oils most often confused. Shared chamazulene accounts for the colour. Camphor and sabinene give the tansy a sharper, more camphoraceous top.

Roman Chamomile (No. 1720), Chamomile, Wild (No. 1731) and Cape Chamomile (No. 1346) form the pale side of the library. All three read sweet, each by a different route: angelate esters in the first, santolina alcohol and pinene in the second, short-chain butanoates in the third.

04 · In Practice

Colour and concentration

The chamazulene oils stain fabric and plastic. They are unsuited to water-based ultrasonic diffusers; a fan diffuser serves. In massage blends, bath preparations and skincare formulation they are used at low concentration, where the colour also tints the finished preparation. German chamomile drifts from blue toward green as chamazulene oxidises, so stock is kept cool, dark and tightly closed.

The pale oils carry far in a blend. Roman chamomile is used in very small proportion in diffusion, evening blends, bath and massage. Cape chamomile and wild chamomile suit diffusion and natural perfumery, the first for its fruity top, the second as a balsamic middle note. Across the library the classic partners are lavender, bergamot, neroli, rose, geranium, sandalwood and helichrysum.

Essential oils are for aromatic and topical use. Dilute before applying to skin. Keep out of reach of children.