Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), a member of the sunflower family, has been used for centuries in European folk medicine as a remedy for headaches, arthritis, and fevers. In fact, the term feverfew is adapted from the Latin word febrifugia or fever reducer. ~ University of Maryland Medical Center
Tanacetum parthenium
Feverfew seed clusters.
Feverfew flowers look like small and delicate shasta daisies. The central eye of the flower is where the seeds develop. Allow the flowers to mature and their petals to drop naturally. The central eye will swell with maturing seeds. When they are ripe it will turn light brown in color, the stem beneath the seed head will also brown.
The seeds are easy to collect. Simply strip off the dried seed head, allow it to dry on a plate for a few days, and then crumble it with your fingers. It will break apart into many small light-wheat colored seeds. They are very tiny things, like bits of a thin line.
There will be some chaff in with the seeds but it is also small. Good traders sends these seeds with chaff as it is so difficult to separate the two. Sowing the seeds is simple, pat them into the soil surface and ignore any chaff bits as they will not interfere with germination.
They include:
Chrysanthemum parthenium, Chrysanthemum praealtum, Leucanthemum parthenium, Matricaria eximia, Matricaria parthenium, and Tanacetum parthenium!
National Agricultural Library Thesaurus
Factsheet No. MF2379
by Susan A. Latta, Marshall County Extension Agent
Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
Factsheet No. 359
Ornamental Plants plus Version 3.0
Michigan State University Extension
Factsheet No. HIL-8110
by Erv Evans, Extension Associate
and Jeanine Davis, Extension Specialist
Department of Horticultural Science
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
North Carolina State University