Asteraceae / Matricaria discoidea / Pineappleweed

Time for a fan-favorite! Our school custodian was recently complaining about the bounty of weeds on our playground (which, sad to say, is completely dirt + gravel). Thinking them to be  Goatheads/Tribulus terrestrus, he mentioned that they were going to put in a work order to spray, so I figured we would check out what was popping up out there! 

The name Matricaria discoidea comes from the Latin matrix (meaning of the womb) and discoidea, which describes this plant's lack of ray flowers (the 'petals' along the rim). The common name Pineapple weed references both it's aesthetics and the absolutely lovely pineapple scent when the heads are crushed. 

Brief botany details begin with their yellow, dome-shaped inflorescence (flowerhead) containing disc flowers only. The greenish bracts surrounding the base of the flower have a white tinge to their edges. Below this are < 2" (5cm) alternate sessile leaves. These are deeply divided and branched into narrow segments; giving it an almost-feathery appearance. 

Flower heads are eaten raw or sometimes cooked. Depending on the location, they can be pretty good (albeit weirdly textured imho). However, we primarily use them dried as a German Chamomile substitute. Really great, slightly sweeter flavor and just a touch more medicinally mild than the aforementioned plant. The entire plant can be used, however, the more green,the more bitter the final result will be. 

Now back to the story...thankfully, after showing our custodian these little ones and mentioning a few of their benefits, we were able to dissuade him from putting in the order!