Abraham Lincoln said in effect that God must love the common
people – he made so many of them. Perhaps that same general
thought can be applied to the weeds, especially those that flower
in August producing acre after acre of gentle eye-pleasing
expanses. Some of the most conspicuous and beautiful, regardless
of their invasive qualities, include the chicory, spotted
knapweed, black-eyed Susan, Queen Anne’s lace, common
St.John’s-wort, common milkweed and ox-eye daisy.
Adding contrasting yellows to the blues and purples are the
alien common St. John’s-wort, the native black-eyed Susan and,
somewhat later, the goldenrods. Here are three perennials that
differ considerably in their habits placing the common St.
John’s-wort and most of the goldenrods in the weed group while
the black-eyed Susan, not nearly as aggressive in its tendencies
to spread and multiply, would fit most people’s description of an
attractive wildflower.
I wonder how many people in this region now have eye-catching
bouquets of wild chrysanthemums decorating their homes. My guess
is that not many folks would agree to this assumption until
informed that the flower is one of the most widespread weeds in
the Northern Hemisphere.
Actually it is the well-known ox-eye daisy that botanically is
a genuine chrysanthemum. Whoever assigned the Latin name to the
ox-eye daisy years ago was torn between gold and white.
"Chrysanthemum," its genus name, refers to golden
flower while its species name, "leucanthemum," means
white flower.
So interpreted correctly this amazingly successful and
prolific wildflower, "Chrysanthemum leucanthemum,"
would be called white-flowered golden flower. The species name,
the second word, always comes first in the interpretation. For
example, your first name would be the species name while your
last name would be the genus name.
Whenever I see a dazzling expanse of these predominantly white
flowers I think back to another experience Charlotte and I had
several years ago with a fantastic blanket of "snow in
August," a 30-acre field of millions of wild ox-eye daisies.
Some simple measurements and calculations led us to conclude that
there were around 2,395,000 of the white and gold flowers per
acre. Picture in your mind the total for an entire county and
you begin to realize how many billions there may be.
Pick them to your heart’s content but, at the suggestion of
our friends, use them liberally for an outside doorstep bouquet.
Their odor is quite strong.
Judging by their super-abundance, one would find it difficult
to believe that this tall, leafy-stemmed perennial is not native
to North America but was rather brought over by the White Man.
"White man’s Foot" the Native Americans called these
and other persistent weeds which the early settlers seemed to
always bring with them. To the Indians, the white settlers
couldn’t take a step without leaving glaring evidence of their
having been there – and we’re still doing it!
At least a hundred common names have been applied to this
deep-rooted "alien invader" including moon daisy,
moonpenny, poorland daisy, poverty weed, dog daisy, Herb Margaret
(in France), love-me, love-me-not, and field daisy.
It is thought to have been a native of Asia and Europe and was
"smuggled in" with the ballast of ships, hay used in
packing, or inadvertently mixed in with feed and bedding for
cattle, or seeds to be sown in the fields. Regardless of how it
arrived, it is here to stay.
One can find them growing from Labrador to Florida, west to
British Columbia, Utah and California. Some books say these
widely distributed travelers are found in every state but North
Dakota. The plant left its native haunts where competition,
resulting from many centuries of agriculture, was indeed
difficult. Upon arriving here it had clear sailing in the virgin
soil, and it spread with great ease.
As a member of the large daisy or composite family, its close
relatives include the yellow Canada hawkweed as well as the
orange hawkweed. It is a common sight now to see the white,
yellow, and orange weeds literally blanketing some fields. Mix
in some patches of blue-flowered chicory and you have a mighty
pretty scene in spite of their being considered noxious weeds by
many.
The ox-eye daisy being a composite (largest family of
flowering plants) refers to the fact that this group includes
plants that have many small flowers of two kinds placed closely
together. What we call one flower is in reality a cluster of
many very small individual flowers.
Ordinarily we call the white structures petals. Technically
each is a strap-shaped banner or ray flower. From 20-30 of these
graceful, large and showy "female floret" ray flowers
attract insects. They are the advertising specialists. One
wonders what insect could possibly pass up a field of daisies.
Each appears to be a perfect "target flower" as well as
a safe landing platform for insects.
The golden center of the daisy, composed of the disc flowers,
contains many little tubular structures that hold the stamens and
they, in turn, the pollen. Look head on at this geometrically
formed bull’s eye if you want to see some of nature’s most
splendid spirals.
Close examination will reveal that in each small golden floret
the stamens are fused together forming a tiny tube. While the
tubular floret is still closed there is a miniature explosion
inside the tube causing the ripe pollen to form a layer above the
stamen. Slowly as the flower opens, the stigma pushes the layer
of pollen out of the tiny anther tube and now it is available to
be picked up by countless visiting insects.
In order to ensure cross-pollination there is an expansion of
the two stigmatic lobes when they are well above the tube and the
loose pollen. Should for some reason insects not find a
particular daisy and cross-pollination not take place, then the
tiny stigmatic lobes bend backward in an arc, touch the pollen
and become self-pollinated. This highly successful plant is
bound to produce fertile seeds one way or the other!
The dazzling white and gold "naturalized immigrants"
from Europe and Asia have taken sole possession of thousands of
acres in this land of opportunity – daisies dancing at light
zephyr’s call!
An oxeye daisy, one of the most abundant and
beautiful weeds of the Midwest.
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate
on 08/02/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
