365 Urban Species. #165: Oxeye Daisy

Location: Riverway, at Parkway Road.

Urban species #165: Oxeye daisy

It's almost shocking to research daisies, and discover the phrase "noxious weed" repeated insistently. One man's wildflower is another man's weed, particularly when that wildflower crosses from one continent to another. This European native's invasive qualities are most annoying to those in North America who keep pasture or cropland. Like buttercup, livestock avoid grazing it, making it essentially a contaminant in the pasture. That's rather depressing, isn't it? The cheeriest flower imaginable, a contaminant. It's seed has historically been found in wildflower mixes, and rows of them are planted in gardens. In earlier times the daisy was grown for medicinal value (to treat coughs). The young leaves can be added to salad green mixes.

In the city, oxeye daisy grows in fields that receive less diligent mowing than others. It is primarily found in the northern and plains states, and is very common in the northwest, especially along roadsides. The city of Anchorage has an embarrassment of oxeye daisies in summertime.

( Closer...closer! )