This lovely native plant has gained many common names over the centuries; butter daisy, dun daisy, field daisy, may weed, poverty weed to name but a few. My favourites are moon daisy and moon penny which capture the glowing light they give to the landscape on a dusk walk. The name daisy, from day’s eye captures the smaller common daisy’s habit of “going to bed” with closed petals at night. In contrast, the Oxeye daisy stays open, continuing to glow in the dark.
Like so many of our ancient plants it was part of the daily lives of past generations who used it for food and a variety of ailments. It contains pyrethrin, a natural organic insecticide and was used in the bedding of domestic animals. Also hung from haylofts in the hope of protection from thunderstorms.
It grows best in grasslands, largely gone with modern farming. The welcome change to mowing practices has allowed it to thrive again on verges and it seems to be spreading rapidly (each flower can produce 26,000 seeds).
Each white petal is an individual sterile flower, just there to attract pollinators and of course for a game of “loves me, loves me not”. Each yellow central dot is an individual fertile flower arranged in Fibonacci sequence spirals. The daisy uses maths to pack the maximum number of flowers into the space! Fibonacci series in plants
Take a moment to watch a patch of flowers to see how much it is loved by our bees, hoverflies and butterflies.
If you are looking for inspiration for supper Eatweeds has recipes, then take an evening stroll through the field behind the school and enjoy the glow.
Thanks to Catherine Truscott for her dreamy photos