is it the flowers or leaves you use in salad? ditto for the smoke.

it grows in the sidewalk cracks of milwaukee. not sure how good the soil is that it grows in and therefore, not sure that i'd want to be injesting it. any thoughts on this?

C, I tend to stick things in a pipe often, some of the best smokeables are flower petals, especially rose!

It seems to suck your conciousness up into the head, and is relaxing on the body. However one mate tried smoking it with me and it agrivated his back problem quite severly.

Matricaria matricarioides

Common name: Pineapple weed Family: Asteraceae (was Compositae)

Synonyms: Matricaria suaveolens (non L.), Matricaria discoidea (DC.)
Known Hazards: Some people are allergic to this plant[222].
Range: N.E. Asia. An introduced and increasing weed in Britain and the US.
Habitat: Waysides and waste places, especially along tracks, paths and by trampled gateways[17].


Other Possible Synonyms:
From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
Artemisia matricarioides[B,G,P] Chamomilla chamomilla[B,P] Chamomilla recutita[B,G,H,P] Chamomilla suaveolens[B,C,G,H,P] Lepidanthus suaveolens[B,P] Lepidotheca suaveolens[B,P] M. chamomilla[B,G,H,P] M. chamomilla var. coronata[B,P] M. discoides[E] M. recutita[B,DUTCH,G,H,HPIC,HORTIPLEX,L,P] M. reticulata[H] Santolina suaveolens[B,G,P] Tanacetum suaveolens[B,P]
Other Common Names: From various places around the Web, MAY NOT BE CORRECT.
See below.
Chamomile [H], Disc Mayweed [P], Echte Kamille [D], False Chamomile [H], German Chamomile [H], German Tea Chamomile [H], Hungarian Chamomile [H], Kopf Kamille [E], Mayweed [P], Nd [E], Pineapple Weed [H,S,E], Pineapple-weed [L,B], Scented Mayweed [L], Schijfkamille [D], Sweet Chamomile [H], Wild Chamomile [B],

Other Range Info: From the Ethnobotany Database
Britain; Germany; Us(Aleut); Us(Blackfoot); Us(Flathead)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.3m. It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies. We rate it 1 out of 5 for usefulness.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.
Edible Uses
Flowers; Tea.

Flower heads - raw or cooked[172]. A tasty nibble[172].

The dried flowers are used to make herb teas[172]. They are pineapple scented when steeped in hot water[183].

Medicinal Uses

Antispasmodic; Carminative; Galactogogue; Sedative; Skin; Vermifuge.

The flowering plant is antispasmodic, carminative, galactogogue, sedative, skin and vermifuge[9, 172, 222]. This plant is rarely used medicinally, though it is sometimes employed as a domestic remedy in the treatment of intestinal worms and also as a sedative[9]. The plant is harvested when in flower in the summer and is dried for later use[9]. Some caution is advised since some individuals are allergic to this plant[222].
Other Uses
Repellent.

The plant repels insects[172]. The dried flowers are used as an insect repellent[213].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny position[200].

The bruised or sun-warmed leaves emit the appealing odour of ripe apples[245].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring or late summer in situ. Germination should take place within 3 weeks.
Scent

Leaves: Fresh Crushed
The bruised or sun-warmed leaves emit the appealing odour of ripe apples[245].

References

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

The above mostly from www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html .

I use the flowers in salad...mostly I just like to nibble as I wander...