Daisies

Daisies are the easiest flowers to recognize.

About twenty white petals surround a yellow, disk-like center. In the center, there is a host of tiny reduced flowers.

That is where the sweet stuff is hidden.

The daisy is a typical grassland wildflower, growing in meadows and open fields, or pastures, and amid scrub brush or in woods with lots of open canopy, as well as in disturbed or transitional areas.

You can see them swaying in the breeze in big bunches.

They grow alone or in groups, standing about three feet high, with flowers of varying sizes, but usually not more than two inches across.

Their official name is Leucanthemum vulgare , but they are also commonly known as the ox-eye daisy.

Daisies are native to Europe and Asia, in the temperate regions, but they are now widespread throughout the world, including North America, where some consider them to be an invasive plant.

The daisy was originally introduced here as a garden flower, but it ran wild and now plants itself.

Daisies provided food for many species, including humans.

Did you know that the buds can be fried like capers?

Some insects enjoy the pollen and nectar from the center of the flower. Even flies!

Others who enjoy the daisy are much smaller than a fly.

Some animals eat the petals of the daisy outright.

But whether it is for nutrition or just aesthetic enjoyment, daisies are a flower that spreads joy to all. And since it plants itself, there is no price for the daisy’s gift.

Ox-eye daisies are related to chamomile, though the flower that makes the tea is different.

Whether they are found in a field or in the woods, the daisy delights the eye, and so do all that feed on it.

The daisy makes a meaningful contribution to its habitat and gives back as much as it takes.

Invasive or not, I am glad there are daisies growing on my land!