Matricaria chamomilla 1:1 extract: German chamomile in liquid form
German chamomile is an annual member of the daisy family that turns up along field edges and on waste ground across Europe. It grows to somewhere between fifteen and sixty centimetres, carries finely divided, almost thread like leaves and produces flower heads with white ray florets around a yellow centre. That centre is the giveaway: during flowering it rises into a cone and is hollow inside. Cut a spent head lengthwise and you see it at once, which is what separates this species from look alikes such as corn chamomile. Do not mix it up with Roman chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile, either, since that one is perennial.
Those same flower heads are the source of this liquid extract. It is a 1:1 extract in a 10 ml bottle, meaning roughly one gram of plant material has been worked into every millilitre. A stronger ratio such as 2.5:1 packs more than twice as much material into that same millilitre. A 1:1 therefore stays close to the flower itself, with the scent many people describe as apple like and the mildly bitter taste familiar from chamomile tea.
Dosing and use
As with other herbal tinctures, you measure out a number of drops into a glass of water or tea, or take them straight under the tongue. Give the bottle a shake first, because plant matter slowly settles. Start with a small amount and build up if you want to; adding a drop is easy, taking one back is not.
Storage and precautions
Keep the bottle cool, dry and dark, and out of reach of young children. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication, talk to your doctor first. People sensitive to plants in the daisy family may react to chamomile as well. Avalon Magic Plants stocks dozens of other 1:1 extracts on the same shelf, among them peppermint, nettle, dandelion, marigold and ginger.
