This lovely, showy, member or the daisy family, is usually one of the first species to appear in a wild flower garden and is found growing in clumps, nestled within long grasses. Ox-eye Daisy can be found forming sheets of white haze, along railway embankments, growing tall, when in slightly sheltered areas. Ox-eye can also be found growing on cliff-faces but due to the windswept environment, have shorter stalks.
Latin name: Leucanthemum vulgare
Identification
- Plant height: 50-60cms, with wiry stems
- Leaves: Dark green, obovate shaped and serrated
- Flowers: 5-7cms in diameter, consisting of 20 white petals that surround a bright yellow centre
- Habitat found: Grassland and meadows
- Flowering time: May – September
- Attracts: Beetles, hoverflies and Beeflies
In The Garden
A must, for any wildlife garden, as it attracts a wide variety of insects and can grow in pretty much any soil type and can with-stand full sunshine
Did you know?
Pulling petals off an ox-eye daisy, while repeating, “He loves me, he loves me not”, is still used as a charm, stemming from folklore tradition and the unopened buds can be marinated and used in salads, like capers.