Sicilian Chamomile

Anthemis punctata ssp cupaniana

At the start of a 4 mile walk around the Great Orme from the West Shore, I discovered these beautiful flowers growing on the cliff faces. In the first two images you can see the rock strewn beach below. It is usually found in southern climes, and here, on the Great Orme, it is at one of its most northerly outposts. Mainly a garden plant, it usually only naturalises by the sea, which it has appeared to have done so here.

Also called ‘Dog Fennel’, it is an evergreen perennial with mats of intricately shaped leaves which are mostly silvery in the growing season. Apparently they give off a pungent aromatic scent when warmed by the sun. Hasten to say, I couldn’t smell anything on the day which was overcast.

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Sicilian Chamomile (Anthemis punctata ssp cupaniana), West Shore of the Great Orme, Llandudno, Wales. April 2017.