* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
At this time of year, in spring, in Claravalls, in the Urgell region, and especially in Els Plans de Sió, in La Segarra, there were some stretches of fields where, meters before arriving, you could already smell the smell of chamomile.
This year, in Claravalls, nothing at all. And in Els Plans de Sió, yes there are, but, nevertheless, I have passed by there to take these photographs for The Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia and the chamomile flowers do not smell.
And we cannot see the amount of flowers that there were in other years either. What happened? Why are there fewer chamomile flowers in the fields? Why don’t they smell like they used to?
When talking about the smell we must keep in mind that the word chamomile and the name of the genus Chamaemelum come from Greek, where etymologically it means “earth apple”. Therefore, this plant is named for its apple-like smell.
Chamomile is traditionally used in hair and skin care products, in infusions, perfumes and cosmetics, and to flavor and aromatize foods. It is also widely used in traditional medicine.
