costmary, Tanacetum balsamita

Costmary is quite aromatic; imagine chrysanthemum. it has a long tradition in herbal medicine and other uses because of the attractive smell. It has been called bible leaf because the leaves were used to mark places in Bibles. The plants we see mostly do not have ray flowers. I don't know if this was nature's plan, or if that variety has just been preferred for gardens. In Michigan no plants with ray flowers have been collected wild. Costmary has been collected wild in CA, CO, CT, DE, ID, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MT, NH, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, WY, NS, ON, QC, ans SK. Beal Gardens, MSU, 7/26/12. Aster family, Asteraceae.