Shepherd's Purse

Stinking mayweed (Anthemis cotula) is an annual weed common in the North Island and also in Nelson, Marlborough and Canterbury. It has an erect, bushy growth up to 40 cm tall with white flowers with yellow centers. It germinates in the spring and is common in crops, disturbed ground and thin established pastures. As its name suggests when crushed stinking mayweed has a very strong distinctive smell.

Scentless Chamomile (Matricaria perforata) is a bushy annual or biennial plant that grows to 60 cm and is wholly or almost scentless. It has an erect stem, with branches only from mid stem upwards. The leaves are fern like and sticky. The flowers are large, with twelve white petals, with central yellow disc florets, giving the flower a daisy-like appearance. They appear singly on stems and branches between December and March.

Found in moist disturbed areas such as roadsides, cropland, pasture, drainage ditches and waste areas. The seeds are 2 mm, dark brown with a raise edge, and each plant produces 10,000 - 200,000 seeds which germinate in shallow soil.

Rayless chamomile (Matricaria dioscoidea) is an erect annual, found in waste and cultivated ground and footpaths. It is resistant to cold, trampling and many herbicides. The greenish yellow leaves have a feathered appearance and give off a pineapple scent when crushed. The composite flowers are yellow with green tinges and growing at the end of the branches. It is not particularly common in New Zealand, and found chiefly in the North Island, and the north and east of the South Island.