Άγρια μαργαρίτα, 'Ανθεμις η κυπελλοειδής
Etymology of Anthemis cotula: Named "Anthemis" after the ancient Greeks and Romans. Cotula" in Latin means "small cup".
There are at least 10 Anthemis species and subspecies in the wild Cypriot habitat.
Anthemis cotula appears all around Cyprus at an altitude of up to 1525 metres. Anthemis cotula's flowering time is between April and September. It grows on roadsides, meadows and cultivated fields.
How to recognise Anthemis cotula:
In order to identify Anthemis cotula we primarily take into consideration its flowers, leaves, and bracts.
It has similar flowers to Anthemis amblyolepis, chia, palaestina, parvifolia (it is a rare plant that grows only in eastern Cyprus), and pseudocotula subsp. rotata.
On the contrary, its leaves are unique and different from pseudocotula subsp. rotata's: they are oblong or ovate-oblong in outline, deeply and irregularly dissected 2 or 3 times (2-3 pinnatisect), into shallow linear, rather fleshy, sparsely hairy, acuminate and mucronate divisions; their basal leaves are opposite, flat and sheathing at the base, while the upper leaves are alternate and more or less sessile. The latter has leaves that are alternate, twice pinnatisect, its basal leaves are petiolate; they have their segments linear-lanceolate, sessile, and pointed at the apex with a small acute and sharp projection (mucro), more or less densely hairy; its stem's leaves are sessile. Amblyolepis's and palaestina's leaves are very different. As its name suggests, parvifolia has tiny leaves.
Thus it is more similar to chia, and cotula. Cotula has bracts rather hairless or subglabrous, oblong, wide and linear, with brownish margins (key difference); chia has bracts glabrous or subglabrous, oblong, lanceolate or triangular, with brownish/black edges; pseudocotula subsp. rotata has clearly hairy bracts, oblong, and linear.
A final tip: cotula can reach up to 70cm tall, whilst shorter pseudocotula subsp. rotata up to 30cm.
