Stinking Chamomile*

Anthemis cotula

Found in roadsides, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Height: 6 inches–2 feet
Light: Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to moist

No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…

At a glance

Life cycle: Annual

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: recorded only in the FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) phone app (app page).

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 40 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Anthemis

Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

8BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Anthemis

Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Asteraceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Height · “6 inches–2 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
Life cycle · “Annual” · Minnesota Wildflowers
Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Mayweed; Stinking Chamomile

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNA
Global rank	G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

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