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You are here: Home / Foraging / Foraging Pineapple Weed

Foraging Pineapple Weed

July 19, 2018 by Ashley Adamant 22 Comments

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Pineapple weed (Matricaria discoidea) is often one of the first plants a budding forager tries as a kid.  It can grow just about anywhere but has a gift for growing in the most uninviting locations.  That includes places even dandelions can’t take root.

Growing up in the desert in southern California, there was nothing but dust and sand on our playground.  The only bit of life came from the tiny cracks in the asphalt handball courts, where enough moisture must collect from early morning dew.  Pineapple weed thrived in those cracks when little else grew for miles in any direction.

Foraging Pineapple Weed

That was the first time I tried pineapple weed, and I have to say I was unimpressed.  Though it did smell vaguely of pineapple, it was bitter and thoroughly unpleasant. 

But how much can you ask of a plant growing in asphalt in the desert?  I assumed it probably tastes better given a less stressful environment.

Fast forward nearly 30 years later, and there aren’t many places where a dandelion won’t grow on our Vermont homestead.  Marginal land is in short supply, which I’m happy about. 

Still, there is one spot right in front of the garage covered in sand, packed gravel and in near full shade.  Pineapple weed has found a home there, thriving where nothing else can.

Pineapple Weed

That spot grows the lushest crop of pineapple weed I’ve ever seen.  The plants are dense, and nearly a foot tall.  Nothing like the desperate 3-4 inch specimens from my California childhood.  Surely this pineapple weed is going to be the cream of the crop!

I break off a stalk in mid-summer when the plants are at their full height and bite right in…and then promptly spit it out.

It tastes wetter and greener than my childhood memory, but it’s still bitter and otherwise tasteless.  Though the plant smells pleasant enough, I don’t get any hints of pineapple in the taste.  What am I doing wrong?

Pineapple Weed

I’m ready to give it up.  Maybe I can taste some bitter principle in pineapple weed that others can’t, and perhaps I’m just not meant to enjoy this plant. 

Then I look over to see my baby foraging buddy gobbling up pineapple weed with excitement.  I usually have my 3-year-old daughter with me when I’m foraging in the woods, but this time since I’m right on the driveway the little guy (17 months) got to come too.

My daughter tried pineapple weed, and promptly spit it out just like I did.  The little guy had a different strategy. 

I watched him carefully pluck off the blossoms, leaving behind any green leaf or stem material.  His little hands worked skillfully, picking apart those blossoms.

Pineapple Weed Eating Baby

I’m not above learning from a baby that seems to know what he’s doing.  I give it a try, plucking off a blossom and leaving the green material behind. 

The taste…sweet, floral, pineapple-y…and just the slightest hint of bitter.  I try again, this time using my teeth to just pluck off the very tip of the blossom, leaving the greenery around the base intact.  It’s perfect!

This is what people are talking about!  Deliciously sweet, strong pineapple flavor with hints of chamomile tea.

Sweet Pineapple Weed Blossom

Perhaps there is some bitterness in the greens that I can taste that others can’t, or maybe they do taste it and just don’t mention it.  The kids in the schoolyard ate the whole plant readily enough, but perhaps they were just showing off.  If you’ve found it bitter in the past, be sure to pluck off just the blossoms and remove every bit of the feathery leaf matter.

I found one source that says pineapple weed greens are used in salads, but only before the plants blossom.  Once pineapple weed breaks bud the leaves become unpalatably bitter. 

That makes a lot more sense!  Maybe it is a sweet green when it’s tiny and hasn’t blossomed, but I’ll have to wait until next year to try it.

I plucked off a handful of blossoms, keen on taking them inside to make a bit of tea.  I couldn’t keep my little baby buddy out of them, and he gobbled them up by the handful.

Baby stealing pineapple weed

Identifying and Using Pineapple Weed

Pineapple weed is known as wild chamomile, and both plants are in the aster family.  There is another plant that is actually “wild chamomile” (Matricaria chamomilla) also found on roadsides and waste places, but this version has far fewer leaves and actually has white petals. 

Pineapple weed is completely lacking petals and only has a yellowish-green central cone.  My Edible Wild Plants field guide says that both have a mild pineapple and chamomile scent when the flower buds are crushed.

The medicinal properties of pineapple weed are supposed to be similar to cultivated or wild chamomile.  It’s a mild sedative, effective against anxiety and mild gastrointestinal upset.  My medicinal plant and herbs field guide says that it’s a traditional tea plant “used for stomachaches, flatulence, colds, menstrual cramps” and externally as a wash for sores and itchy conditions.

Pineapple Weed Blossoms

Pineapple Weed Tea

Since I find the bottom of the flower buds quite bitter, I’m actually taking the time to cut the tops of the flower buds off of the base.  It makes sense, when you’re making dandelion wine the petals have to be completely removed from the bitter green sepals or the whole batch will be horribly bitter.

Most people don’t go through this step, and instead, just make a tea with the whole blossom heads.  Try the blossoms whole. 

If you don’t taste the bitterness, don’t bother separating the sepals.  It’s a pain, and time-consuming, but this extra effort cuts out the bitter flavor and allows the sweet pineapple flavor to shine through.

Foraging Pineapple Weed #foraging #forage #wildfood #pineappleweed #wildcrafting #chamomile

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Filed Under: Foraging, Herbalism

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susannah

    July 24, 2018 at 3:34 pm

    So interesting! I’ve been meaning to check this one out because its smell is so fabulous — glad to know more about it. LOVE your foraging posts!

    Reply
  2. Wynn Currie

    June 21, 2019 at 11:55 pm

    I want to let you know that I stopped by and found your post interesting. I subscribed also.

    Reply
    • Ashley Adamant

      July 2, 2019 at 3:36 pm

      Wonderful, glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  3. Aine

    August 14, 2019 at 6:01 pm

    I have it growing at the top of our driveway. I use it for a chamomile substitute. It is also reputed to keep mosquitoes away. If you taste the greens, you’ll understand why. Great site. I’ve followed you on FB and

    Reply
  4. Debbie Aristone

    November 27, 2019 at 4:53 pm

    I am enjoying reading all about wild foraging posts and info.
    Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us.
    I live in Ontario Canada and have this year joined a local foraging group.
    My parents taught me as a young girl to forage for some wild mushrooms, and in the fall l look forward to the hunt. Had a good haul of wild Shaggy Manes. pear shaped puff balls, one soccer sized puff ball, and a wild portobellos types of mushrooms.
    Looking forward to learning more about wild edible plants

    Reply
  5. Dianna

    May 5, 2020 at 3:47 am

    I have never seen this plant where I live (in the mountains of northeast TN). I will be on the lookout for it, though!

    Reply
  6. Syndie

    June 7, 2020 at 11:11 pm

    Hi, I was wondering if you have tried to dry them and save them for using during the winter. I love eating them, so does my grandkids. I don’t notice any bitterness. Thanks.

    Reply
  7. Rose

    July 21, 2020 at 12:36 am

    Looking at your picture. You talk of removing the green but your picture still shows the green that the pineapple sits on. What are you removing,?

    Reply
    • Administrator

      February 24, 2021 at 5:40 pm

      When she was talking about removing the green, she removed the stem and leaves but there was still a bit of it left around the base of the blossom. This is why it was still a little bitter. Once she bit off the blossom with the tip of her teeth and was sure to leave all of the green around the base, there was no more bitterness.

      Reply
  8. Don Smith

    November 30, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    I’m going to try to purposefully grow it in a pot or in my yard next spring. We’ll see how it goes, thanks for the article!

    Reply
    • Ashley Adamant

      December 28, 2020 at 1:03 am

      Awesome, hope it works out for you!

      Reply
  9. Luin

    July 12, 2021 at 4:59 pm

    I wonder if that would make an interesting liqueur.

    Reply
    • Administrator

      July 12, 2021 at 6:32 pm

      That’s an interesting idea. I would love to know if you decide to give it a try.

      Reply
  10. Felicia Stout

    July 13, 2021 at 12:29 am

    How did you learn so much? I am always impressed by your post and your information that you share! Do you have a post anywhere on your book collection or how you learned so much?

    Reply
    • Administrator

      July 13, 2021 at 2:30 pm

      Thank you for your kind words. We are so glad that you are enjoying the posts. There really isn’t a post with all the books, there are so many. I would just encourage you to pick one new skill that you want to learn about and start there. It’s really just a matter of building your skills one thing at a time.

      Reply
  11. Diana

    April 20, 2022 at 11:51 pm

    I just love pineapple weed! I learned about it from you, so thank you! I can’t remember if I got this link from you or if I somehow stumbled across it, but this is my favorite way to use pineapple weed… Pineapple weed and red clover jam – absolutely delicious, not too sweet, delicious! https://nittygrittylife.com/wildflower-jam/ Thanks again for all of the info you get out to people – so helpful!

    Reply
    • Administrator

      April 22, 2022 at 2:15 pm

      I don’t recall sharing this but it looks like a lovely recipe.

      Reply
  12. Faith

    May 30, 2022 at 12:29 pm

    Oh my, I have some pineapple weed that just popped up in one of my gardens. Now I know what it is and what to do with it. I’m learning so much from you. Thank you, I’m a fellow New Englander.

    Reply
    • Administrator

      June 6, 2022 at 3:52 pm

      You’re very welcome. So glad you are learning.

      Reply
  13. Erin

    August 2, 2022 at 12:24 am

    Have you tried making pineapple weed jelly? It’s amazing! I also make a pineapple weed infused vodka, which everyone loves 🙂

    Reply
    • Administrator

      August 9, 2022 at 2:20 am

      I haven’t personally tried it yet but it sounds amazing.

      Reply
  14. tammy

    October 6, 2022 at 10:10 pm

    The pineapple plant must be like Cilantro, some of us can taste a bitterness, I liken it to a soapy taste, while others don’t get the after taste. The pineapple weed might be the same, bitter for some but not for others. Love your posts, recently moved to New Mexico and I have Pineapple weed plants everywhere along with a plant that looks like a black pepper pod plant

    Reply

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I’m an off-grid homesteader in rural Vermont and the author of Practical Self Reliance, a blog that helps people find practical ways to become more self-reliant. Read More…

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