Oxeye Daisy

Asteraceae

LIFE FORM: Perennial

NATIVITY: Europe

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

Can grow to 2 feet tall; flowering stems develop from basal rosettes of dark-green, smooth, alternate leaves with rounded lobes.

FLOWERS:

The classic "daisy" flower with 20 to 30 white "petals" (ray flowers) surrounding fertile, yellow disk flowers.

FRUIT/DISPERSAL AGENTS:

Small, dark-brown seed is disperse by birds.

ECOLOGICAL PREFERENCE:

A drought tolerant species that grows best in full sun. Prefers trampled lawns in public parks; minimally maintained public parks and open space; vacant lots and rubble dump sites; abandoned grasslands (meadows); rock outcrops and stone walls; unmowed highway banks and median strips with frequent salt applications; railroad tracks with ballast substrate.

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION:

Salt tolerance along roadways; drought tolerance on compacted soils; food and/or habitat for wildlife; soil building on degraded land.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

Most people assume this common and very attractive European species is native to North America; the plant has a long tradition of medicinal use in Europe.