White Daisies
What are they?
The compound heads of small yellow florets and outer ring of white petals show these plants to be members of the daisy and dandelion family - the Asteraceae. These plants may be either annuals or perennials and are rather variable in their overall appearance. Most do not have noticeably scented foliage, unlike the mayweeds and chamomiles.
Where are they found?
The native species in this group tend to be plants of open, grassy places, with the Common Daisy probably being the most widespread and abundant broad-leaved plant in garden lawns. The non-native species may crop up on grassy roadsides and rough ground where garden waste has been dumped or on paving and walls and may spread themselves readily.
Identification
This group contains species that are not all closely related, so their general appearance - particularly of the leaves and growth style - will help with identification. As with many members of the Asteraceae, features of the phyllaries can be useful - those are the greenish bracts that surround the outside of the flowerhead.
Common Daisy Bellis perennis
Native. Widespread and abundant in all types of short grass and turf habitats, except where removed by weedkillers. Flowers more or less throughout the year with a peak period in April to May. Leaves clustered in basal rosettes with the flowerheads solitary on stems arising from the centres of the rosettes. Petals may be white or tinged with pink. Ornamental cultivars with large, 'double-flowered' heads are popular in municipal plantings in towns.
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Mexican Fleabane Erigeron karvinskianus
Introduced from Mexico as a garden ornamental. Although there are few records in the region's county floras, this species is rapidly expanding its range and should be expected more or less anywhere that there are old walls or cracks in pavements for it to grow! Flowers June to August. Leaves simple or three-lobed, in both a basal rosette and along the wiry stems. Petals may be white or tinged with pink.
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Philadelphia Fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus
Introduced from North America. Recorded from East Norfolk in the early 2000s. Flowers June to August. Stems 20-75cm tall with a basal rosette of leaves. Stem leaves clasping stem. Flowerheads 1.5-2.5cm across, on long stems, often nodding in bud, opening pink but soon fading to white; ray petals very fine, 0.5mm or less in width and numbering at least 100 per head.
This plant is usually wrongly called Robin's Plantain in the UK, but that name belongs to Erigeron pulchellum. Robin's Plantain can be told from Philadelphia Fleabane by its flowerheads 2.5-4cm across, with ray petals numbering around 50 per head and at least 1mm wide. There are many wrongly-named photos of those two on the internet.
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Oxeye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare
Native perennial in chalky or neutral grassland but also widely introduced in wildflower plantings. Widespread and common. Flowers May to September. Leaves spoon-shaped at the base, linear along the stems and coarsely toothed or lobed, up to 8cm long. Flowerheads relatively large, 2.5-6cm across.
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Shasta Daisy Leucanthemum x superbum
A horticultural hybrid, grown as a garden perennial and occasionally found where garden waste is dumped. Spreads readily by seed and is well established in some places, such as on coastal cliffs and on roadside banks. Flowers June to August. Lower leaves elliptic to oval, upper leaves narrower, shallowly toothed, up to 15cm long. Flowerheads large, 6-10cm across.
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Autumn Oxeye Leucanthemella serotina
Introduced from south-east Europe as a garden ornamental but far less common than Shasta Daisy and only recorded as a garden escape or throw-out on a small number of occasions. Flowers September to November. Stems to 1.5m in height. Flowerheads large, 5.5-8cm across. Very similar to Shasta Daisy, but later flowering and with more strongly toothed leaves.
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Feverfew Tanacetum parthenium
Introduced from southeast Europe as a herb and medicinal plant and long-established in urban and suburban areas on rough ground, pavement cracks and similar places. Flowers June to September. Leaves typically pale, yellowish-green in colour. Plants bushy with flowerheads 1.5-2.5cm across and clustered on branched stems. Foliage strongly aromatic. Flowers of cultivated forms are often double.
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Treasureflower Gazania rigens
Introduced from South Africa as a garden ornamental and widely cultivated as an amenity plant (especially in coastal areas), from where it occasionally spreads. Flowers July to October. A low growing, spreading perennial with linear leaves that are dark, glossy green above and felted with dense white hairs beneath. The flowers are highly variable in colour, most often yellow or orange, with or without a darker centre, but white and shades of peach or pink - with or without darker stripes - are also grown.
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Cape Daisy Dimorphotheca jucunda
(Osteospermum jucundum) Introduced from South Africa as a garden ornamental. A popular garden plant that occasionally turns up in the wider countryside where planted, or as a garden throw-out. Flowerheads with ray petals white or pale pink above, deeper pink below and with a yellow and blue centre.
Both D. jucunda and D. ecklonis have been used in cultivation to produce an almost bewildering array of forms, many of which do not have their parentage correctly identified. The plant illustrated here is the cultivar 'Lady Leitrim' (also sold as 'Paleface' or Osteospermum jucundum var. compactum) which is generally considered to be a low-growing and particularly hardy form of D. jucunda. It forms creeping mats of vegetation and is the form most likely to be found and recorded as D. jucunda.
(The taxonomy of this group bounces back and forth every few years between Osteospermum and Dimorphotheca. I'll try to stay consistent with the name used on the Plants of the World Online taxonomy, but the horticultural trade and most botany references still use Osteospermum).
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Strawflower Xerochrysum bracteatum
Introduced from Australia as a garden ornamental and also occurring in the past as an unintentional introduction from wool waste. Not recorded in East Anglia recently, but may occur where garden waste is dumped. Flowers July to September. The orange, fertile flowers that form the central disk are surrounded by 7-15 rows of bracts that harden and are very persistent. The outer (smaller) bracts are translucent, while the inner (larger) rows function as petals and may be white or any shade of yellow, through orange to red or pink. The persistent flowers make this a popular plant with flower arrangers.
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Tricolour Chrysanthemum Ismelia carinata
Introduced from Morocco as a garden ornamental and occasionally found as a survivor from previous plantings or occasionally when self-seeded. Flowers July to September. A low annual plant, growing to around 80cm in height but often much less. Flowers of cultivated forms come in a wide array of colours; most are white with coloured centres, but some may be predominantly yellow or red.
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