Ox-eye daisy
Also known as: white daisy, marguerite
Images
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Morphology
- Stem
- Erect, simple or few-branched, glabrous or lightly hairy.
- Leaves
- Alternate, mostly basal, pinnately lobed or incised; basal and lower stem leaves oblanceolate to narrowly egg-shaped, 1.6 to 4.8 inches long including stalk; margins with shallow, rounded teeth to lobed or cleft; upper leaves progressively smaller, becoming sessile, toothed to entire.
- Inflorescence
- Solitary heads or few at ends of branches, terminal; heads 1.2 to 2.4 inches across; stalks long, slender.
- Flower
- Bracts narrow, overlapping in several series, margins brown; ray florets 15-35, 2/5 to 2/5 inch long, white, 3-toothed at tip; disk florets tubular, corollas yellow.
- Fruit
- Achene, less than 1/12 inch long, more or less 10-ribbed, pappus absent, enclosing small seed.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Roadsides, waste areas, meadows, fields, prairies, and along railroads.
- Distribution
- Chiefly east 1/2 of Kansas.
Practical Information
- Forage Value
- Horses, sheep and goats will browse ox-eye daisy, but cattle avoid it due the bitter taste.
- Uses
- Native Americans brewed a tea of the dried flowers, stem and roots and used it as an eyewash and a wash for chapped hands. Ox-eye daisy and dandelion flowers were used to make wines and tonics.
Additional Notes
Comments
Ox-eye daisy can be weedy. The disk florets bloom in succession from the edge of the disk to the center.
Synonyms
Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.
Scientific Name: Chrysanthemum leucanthemum
Full Citation: Chrysanthemum leucanthemum L.
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Wildflower
- Family
- Asteraceae - Sunflower Family
- Life Span
- Perennial
- Height
- 8-40 inches
- Origin
- Native
- Last Updated
- 2020-08-16
Color Groups
White, Green & Greenish White Wildflowers
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: May, June