Chysanthemum coronarium

Chysanthemum coronarium

Aside from being beautiful to look at, plant is interesting from various points of view. To begin with I had a single plant in my yard about 15 years ago. In spite of the fact that this species is an annual, this particular plant lived in my garden under ideal conditions through the 2nd year. Although reported as an annual it flowered profusely throughout 2 consecutive summers, but no viable seed was produced, suggesting the need for out-crossing. It is self sterile and needs pollen from another plant.

C. coronarium is in the Asteraceae family and the Anthemidea tribe.  It has highly dissected leaves and forms capitula typical of the Sunflower family with both ray and disk flowers. The stems and the leaves have a pungent odor.  The seeds, unlike those of  other sunflowers, lack a pappus, or the airborne part of the seed, as in a dandelion.


C. coronarium is also know as the Chrysanthemum greens because it's stems and leaves are edible.  It is native to the  Mediterranean and East Asia where it is widely available and frequently used in cooking. It is reported to have high nutritional value especially with high levels of carotene and potassium.

To my knowledge, or at least during the time that I was investigating this plant many years back, C. Coronarium is infrequently found in Riverside. However, it is widely found in disturbed, vacant areas in San Diego where the environment is more conducive.  In areas in coastal San Diego, where this plant is sparse initially, such as in vacant lots, it may grow to dominate in just a few years.