Pineappleweed

Matricaria discoidea · also: wild chamomile, matricaire odorante

How to ID it

Low weed of paths, driveways, sidewalk cracks, and compacted soil
Cone-shaped yellow-green flower heads with NO white petals
Feathery, finely-divided leaves
Crush a flower head — it smells sweetly of pineapple and chamomile

Safety

Safe and highly distinctive — the petal-less green cone plus a sweet pineapple scent are unmistakable, with no dangerous lookalikes.
Harvest away from roadsides, sprayed edges, and heavily trafficked paths where it often grows.

Harvest

Look down: pineappleweed thrives in the poorest, most trodden ground — driveways, gravel lots, and the cracks between paving stones. Pinch off the little green cone-shaped flower heads between finger and thumb through summer. Confirm every batch by crushing a head and smelling that sweet pineapple-chamomile scent.

Prep

The flower heads make a gentle, apple-sweet tea — steep a small handful fresh, or dry them for later. They’re also pleasant to nibble raw, and can be scattered over fruit or infused into syrups and shortbread. The feathery leaves are aromatic but the heads carry the best flavour.

Notes

A close chamomile relative, but with no white ray petals — just the raised green-yellow cone. Because it favours compacted, disturbed ground right where people and cars pass, choose clean patches and give them a rinse. Abundant and easy for a first forage.