Anthemis cotula

Suppressed or scanty menses in a person with cold extremities and nervous tension

Feverish cold with restlessness, chilliness, and failure to break a sweat

Overview. Mayweed, or dog fennel, is a common weedy annual of the daisy family found through much of Europe and naturalized widely across North America. It closely resembles German chamomile in growth habit but is coarser, more strongly branched, and carries a sharp, unpleasant odor when bruised. The flowering herb is the part used medicinally. In the physiomedicalist tradition it was classed among the relaxant, diaphoretic herbs, valued as a stronger, more acrid substitute for chamomile when a firmer stimulus to the skin and uterus was wanted.

Overview. Mayweed is an annual weedy member of the daisy family, native to Europe and widely naturalized as a roadside and pasture weed across North America. It gives off a strong, somewhat disagreeable odor when bruised, distinguishing it from true chamomile, to which it bears a close resemblance. The flowering tops were used by nineteenth century American eclectic physicians as a fresh-plant remedy, valued chiefly as a nervine antispasmodic and emmenagogue and as a mild diaphoretic in feverish colds.

Clinical Notes. Physiomedicalist writers placed mayweed alongside chamomile and pennyroyal as a relaxant diaphoretic, useful for opening the skin and equalizing circulation in feverish colds where sweating is sluggish, and for bringing on delayed menses when the picture includes coldness and nervous tension rather than heat and congestion.

Clinical Notes. Eclectic writers reached for mayweed in cases of hysterical or nervous complaints tied to menstrual irregularity, particularly where suppressed or scanty menses coincided with spasmodic pelvic pain and general nervous agitation.