Common Daisy

Description:

Irish Name: Nóinín Bellis perennis is a common European species of Daisy, of the aster family, often considered the archetypal species of that name. Many related plants also share the name "daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy. Historically, it has also been commonly known as bruisewort and occasionally woundwort (although the common name woundwort is now more closely associated with Stachys or Betony). Bellis perennis is native to western, central and northern Europe. Perhaps this little flower is the best-known of all our native plants. It adorns our lawns and short grassland from March through to October, each solitary head (15-25mm across) borne on a slender stalk and is a yellow centre of disc florets surrounded by a halo of white ray florets, sometimes tipped and flushed beneath with pinkish crimson. The Daisy is either a happy sight in early spring or, if you like a perfect lawn, it is something to be contended with. The leaves are spoon-shaped and grow in rosettes very tightly into the ground, so tight that nothing else can grow beneath them. The Daisy belongs to the family Asteraceae.

Notes:

Famous 17th century apothecary and herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper once wrote: "The Daisy is so well known to almost every child, that I suppose it is altogether needless to write any description'