Minnesota Wildflowers


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Matricaria discoidea (Pineapple-weed)

Plant Info
Also known as: Disc Mayweed
Genus:Matricaria
Family:Asteraceae (Aster)
Life cycle:annual
Origin:Pacific Northwest
Habitat:sun; dry; road sides, waste areas
Bloom season:spring, summer
Plant height:3 to 12 inches
USDA PLANTS database:Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:

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Detailed Information

Flower: indistinct
[photo of flowers] Flowers are yellowish green dome-shaped heads ¼ to 1/3 inch across. There are no petals (ray flowers), only disc flowers. The bracts surrounding the base of the flower head have a papery edge. One plant has numerous flowers on stems branching from the leaf axils.
Leaves and stem: alternate lobed
[photo of leaves] Leaves are up to 2 inches long and ¾ inch wide, deeply divided into narrow segments, looking feathery or fern-like. Leaves and stem both may have a few sparse hairs, but are mostly hairless.
Notes:
Pineapple-weed may have originated in the Pacific Northwest or Asia; either way it is not native to Minnesota. It's a weedy thing often found in dry disturbed soil, and tends to form colonies. The common name comes from the pineapple-like smell of crushed leaves and flowers.

More photos

Photos taken at Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park, Shoreview, MN June 2008

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Lisa R in Nevis (north central)
on: 2009-08-20 14:11:08

Very abundant here. In my yard and along roads.

Posted by: M. Bartz in Southern Carlton County
on: 2010-05-23 08:41:37

As a child I knew this plant as Snakeweed, because my father told me it reminded him of the smell of gardner snake winter dens. I never thought of this plant as smelling like pineapple, yet I have always enjoyed the smell. I can still remember picking this flower in my grandmother's driveway as a small child.

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