Stinking Chamomile

After yesterday's botanical marathon, a quieter day was in order. Pete and I managed to squeeze in morning coffee at Notcutt's - a nice interlude before he went off to Kent this evening. 

Photography was limited to a couple of the specimens I'd brought home for confirmation. This is Stinking Chamomile, which can only be determined from Corn Chamomile by the scent and the distribution and shape of the scales on the receptacle (best seen under a microscope). This species is supposed to have a somewhat foetid odour, but I quite like it! The sap is somewhat toxic and apparently can cause blistering, though I've never noticed this.

It has probably been a serious weed of crops since the Iron Age. Although fairly resistant to the first phenoxy herbicides, it has been much reduced by more recent ones and has declined in many areas since the 1962 Atlas. It is now listed as Vulnerable on the most recent UK Red List.