Leucanthemum vulgare
| Leucanthemum vulgare | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 6.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Meadows | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Leucanthemum vulgare (common name: ox-eye daisy)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring or autumn. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Basal cuttings in spring. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Cultivation: Easily grown in a good garden soil in a sunny position[1]. Prefers a rich soil[2].
Plants are hardy to at least -20°c[1].
The whole plant is permeated with an acrid juice, making it obnoxious to insects[3]. The flowers have a smell like stale perspiration[4].
Grows well in the summer meadow but may need some help in maintaining itself[5].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Lapland south and east to the Mediterranean and Siberia.
Habitat: A common weed of grassy fields on all the better types of soil, avoiding acid soils and shade[2].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[6][7]. The young spring shoots are finely chopped and added to salads[3][8][9]. Rather pungent[10], they should be used sparingly or mixed with other salad plants[9].
Root - raw[11]. Used in spring[12].
Medicinal: The whole plant, and especially the flowers[8], is antispasmodic, antitussive, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, tonic and vulnerary[3][8][13]. It is harvested in May and June then dried for later use[3]. The plant has been employed successfully in the treatment of whooping cough, asthma and nervous excitability[3]. Externally it is used as a lotion on bruises, wounds, ulcers and some cutaneous diseases[3][8]. A decoction of the dried flowers and stems has been used as a wash for chapped hands[14]. A distilled water made from the flowers is an effective eye lotion in the treatment of conjunctivitis[8].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, beetles, lepidoptera, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Chrysanthemum leucanthemum.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Baines, Chris. Making a Wildlife Garden.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Mabey, Richard. Food for Free. Collins, 1974.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.