ABSTRACT
Tanacetum cinerariifolium is a short-lived perennial native to Albania and the former Yugoslavia where it can be found on grassy sites, rocky ground, by roadsides and by the sea. It forms an attractive mound of aromatic silver green dissected foliage which the daisy-like white-petaled flowers are held on stems 50cm tall. The closely-related species Tanacetum coccineum has pink, red or white flowers (occasionally yellow at the apex) which also contain insecticidal pyrethrum substances, but it is a poor source compared to T. cinerariifolium. Tanacetum comes from the Greek for immortality. It has been a lengthy and worldwide journey from ‘Zacheri’s Insect Killing Tincture’ to today’s synthetic pesticides against insect vectors of horticultural, agricultural, human and animal diseases, but this small, white-flowered plant and its pink-flowered cousin were the beginning of successful progress along a remarkable chemical, biological and industrial pathway.
