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Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Ox-eye Daisy

Scientific Name: Chrysanthemum leucanthemum L.

Other Names: CHYLE, marguerite blanche, Field daisy, White daisy, grande marguerite, marguerite, chrysanthème leucanthème

Family: Composite or Aster Family (Compostiae

General Description: Perennial, reproducing by seed and by underground rhizomes. It is distinguished by its dark green, smooth, somewhat fleshy, dissected or coarsely toothed leaves, its large, conspicuous, daisy-like flower heads with white rays and yellow centres and its rhizomatous and fibrous-rooted underground system. When crushed, all parts of the plant have a disagreeably sour odour.

Habitat: Ox-eye daisy is very common and conspicuous throughout Ontario, often forming dense infestations in pastures, meadows and waste places, but also occurring in cultivated land, roadsides, gardens and lawns.

Seedlings

Stems

  • Erect or curving upwards
  • 20- 90 cm (8- 36 in.) high
  • Single from upturned ends of rhizomes, or few to many from a stout root-crown

Leaves

  • Lower leaves:
    • Broadly spoon-shaped
    • Deeply and coarsely dissected or toothed
    • Stalked
    • Smooth
    • Dark green
    • Often glossy and fleshy
  • Upper leaves:
    • Narrower
    • Similarly dissected or deeply toothed
    • Stalkless
    • Often clasping the stem
    • Alternate (1 per node)

Flowers

  • Heads:
    • Large and showy
    • Daisy-like
    • 2.5- 5 cm (1- 2 in.) across
    • Borne singly at ends of stems and main branches
  • Ray florets:
    • Usually 15 to 30 per head
    • White
    • 1- 2 cm (2/5- 4/5 in.) long
  • Disk florets:
    • Bright yellow
    • Short
    • Numerous
    • Densely packed
    • Forming a slightly rounded centre
  • Involucral bracts:
    • At the base of each head
    • Numerous
    • Firm
    • Overlapping
    • Light green with brownish margins
  • Seeds:
    • Top-shaped with a knob-like projection on the upper end
    • Ridged
    • Alternate black and white stripes
  • Flowers from early June to late autumn

Often Confused With
Scentless Chamomile (Similar flowers, however chamomile have very finely divided foliage)

Ox-eye daisy Daisy flowers Ox-eye daisy Ox-eye daisy
Click to enlarge.