Leucanthemum vulgare
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Leucanthemum vulgare, commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite (Template:Langx, "common marguerite") and other common names,<ref name="RBGS" /> is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced plant to North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Description
L. vulgare is a perennial herb that grows to a height of Template:Convert<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> and has a creeping underground rhizome. The lower parts of the stem are hairy, sometimes densely hairy but more or less glabrous in the lower parts. The largest leaves are at the base of the plant and are Template:Cvt long, about Template:Cvt wide and have a petiole. These leaves have up to 15 teeth, or lobes or both on the edges. The leaves decrease in size up the stem, the upper leaves up to Template:Cvt long, lack a petiole and are deeply toothed.<ref name="RBGS" /><ref name="Qld">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Muelleria">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="OEH" /><ref name="RBGV">Template:Cite web</ref>
The plant bears up to three "flowers" like those of a typical daisy. Each is a "head" or capitulum Template:Cvt wide.<ref name=":0" /> Each head has between fifteen and forty white "petals" (ray florets) Template:Convert long surrounding the yellow disc florets. Below the head is an involucre of glabrous green bracts Template:Convert long with brownish edges. Flowering occurs from May to October.<ref name=":0" /> The seed-like achenes are Template:Cvt long and have ten "ribs" along their edges but lack a pappus.<ref name="RBGS">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Qld" /><ref name="Muelleria" />
Ox-eye daisy is similar to shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum) which has larger flower heads (Template:Cvt wide) and to stinking chamomile (Anthemis cotula) which has smaller heads (Template:Cvt wide).<ref name="Qld" /> L. maximum is also similar, usually with rays Template:Convert in length.<ref name=":0" />
Taxonomy
L. vulgare was first formally described in 1778 by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who published the description in Flore françoise.<ref name="TPL" /><ref name=APNI>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Lam.">Template:Cite book</ref> It is also known by the common names ox-eye daisy, dog daisy, field daisy, Marguerite, moon daisy, moon-penny, poor-land penny, poverty daisy and white daisy.<ref name="RBGS" />
The species was formerly described as part of the Chrysanthemum genus.<ref name=":0" />
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to Europe, and to Turkey and Georgia in Western Asia. It is a typical grassland perennial wildflower, growing in a variety of plant communities including meadows and fields, under scrub and open-canopy forests, and in disturbed areas. The species is widely naturalised in many parts of the world, including North America,<ref name=":0" /> and is considered to be an invasive species in more than forty countries. It grows in temperate regions where average annual rainfall exceeds Template:Cvt, and often where soils are heavy and damp. It is often a weed of degraded pastures and roadsides.<ref name="Qld" /><ref name="OEH">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cirrusweed">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Vic">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NWCB">Template:Cite web</ref>
Ecology
The species spreads by seeds and by shallow, creeping rhizomes. A mature plant can produce up to 26,000 seeds that are spread by animals, vehicles, water and contaminated agricultural produce, and some seeds remain viable for up to nearly forty years. It is not palatable to cattle and reduces the amount of quality pasture available for grazing. In native landscapes such as the Kosciuszko National Park in Australia, dense infestation can exclude native plants, causing soil erosion and loss of soil organic matter.<ref name="Qld" /><ref name="OEH" /><ref name="Vic" /><ref name="NWCB" />
This plant was top-ranked for pollen production per floral unit sampled at the level of the entire capitulum, with a value of 15.9 ± 2 μL, in a UK study of meadow flowers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
As an invasive species
L. vulgare is one of the most widespread weeds in the Anthemideae. It became an introduced species via gardens into natural areas in parts of Canada,<ref name=ROM>Template:Cite book</ref> the United States,<ref name=invasive>oxeye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare (Asterales: Asteraceae). Invasive.org (2010-05-04). Retrieved on 2015-07-08.</ref> Australia,<ref name="Qld" /> and New Zealand.<ref name="NZ">Template:Cite web</ref> In some habitats it forms dense colonies displacing native plants and modifying existing communities.<ref name="cirrusweed"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The plant commonly invades lawns, and is difficult to control or eradicate, since a new plant can regenerate from rhizome fragments<ref name="cirrusweed"/> and is a problem in pastures where beef and dairy cattle graze, as usually they will not eat it, thus enabling it to spread;<ref name="NZ" /> cows who do eat it produce milk with an undesirable flavor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It has been shown to carry several crop diseases.<ref name="IPA">Template:Cite web</ref>
This species has been declared an environmental weed in New South Wales and Victoria. In New South Wales it grows from Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands to Bombala in the far southeast of the state, and there are significant populations in the Kosciuszko National Park where it has invaded subalpine grassland, snowgum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) woodland and wetlands. In Victoria it is a prohibited species and must be eradicated or controlled.<ref name="Qld" /><ref name="DPI">Template:Cite web</ref>
Uses
Food
The unopened flower buds can be marinated and used in a similar way to capers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Maud Grieve's Modern Herbal (1931) states that "The taste of the dried herb is bitter and tingling, and the odour faintly resembles that of valerian."<ref name="Grieve">Template:Cite book</ref>
Tea
Use in horticulture
L. vulgare is widely cultivated and available as a perennial flowering ornamental plant for gardens and designed meadow landscapes. It thrives in a wide range of conditions but prefers a sunny or part-sun location of average soil that is damp (like many in the daisy family). The plant does well in raised and mulched garden beds that retain moisture and prevent weeds. It is a mesophyte and therefore requires more or less a continuous water supply. The heads of faded and old blooms are often deadheaded to promote further blooming and to maintain the appearance of the plant. There are cultivars, such as 'May Queen', that begin blooming in early spring.Template:Citation needed
Allergies
Allergies to daisies do occur, usually causing contact dermatitis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Symbolism
Since 1987 the daisy, specifically either oxeye daisy or the marguerite daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens), replaced red clover (Trifolium pratense) as the national flower of Denmark. Over time oxeye daisy has become more popular as it is native to Denmark, in contrast to the marguerite daisy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
It is also a popular symbol for Latvia. In an open vote by the botanical society in 1994 it was selected as the national flower.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Argyranthemum frutescens – marguerite daisy
- Bellis perennis – common daisy
- Buphthalmum salicifolium – yellow ox-eye daisy