What is the difference between CHAMOMILE and DAISY?

Question

I don't really understand the difference btween both chamomile and daisy. Because i was searching it up google and the images r exactly the same.

SO r dey the same but wit different names?

Answer 1

Chamomile (or camomile) and daisy are both common names and that is where the confusion begins. I'll do my best to explain!  :)

Chamomile is the common name for a number of plants. The most common "chamomiles" are Anthemis, Chamaemelum and Matricaria.

For Anthemis, chamomile generally refers to Anthemis arvensis, Anthemis punctata and/or Anthemis tinctoria. If you look these up, you will see that they have a daisy-like flower.

Chamaemelum refers to Chamaemelum nobile, which used to be called Anthemis nobilis until about 10 years ago when the name was changed. And again, has a daisy-like flower. This is the one that is most frequently used medicinally and used for chamomile tea.

Then there is Matricaria recituta which also has a daisy-like flower.

So, all of these are commonly called chamomile but are very different plants and this doesn't include all of the species that share the common name either. Some are Roman chamomile, some are German chamomile, etc. depending on the genus and species. Herbal and medicinal use is determined by researching each one for it's uses.

Anthemis: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

Chamaemelum: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

Matriciaria: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

A list of the genus that share the name:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/PFG...

Daisy is one of those common names that applies to several plants. Too many to begin to list. See this link to see:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/PFG...

I would guess that the most common "daisy" plants are Chrysanthemum/Leucanthemum, Rudbeckia and Bellis (but that is up for debate and certainly depends on where you live!). Here are some images of these plants.

Chrysanthemum (soooooo many of these in varying shapes, sizes and colors): http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

Leucanthemum: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

Rudbeckia: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

Bellis: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

So, does this help at all (or just make it more confusing!!!).  If you are looking for the herbal types, stick with the first group of plants I listed. If you just want a plant with a daisy-like flower...the sky is the limit!

Good luck. :)