Biology:Bellis perennis
| Bellis perennis | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Bellis |
| Species: | B. perennis
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| Binomial name | |
| Bellis perennis | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Bellis perennis (/ˈbɛləs pəˈrɛnəs/),[2][3] the daisy, is a European species of the family Asteraceae, often considered the archetypal species of the name daisy. To distinguish this species from other plants known as daisies, it is sometimes qualified as common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy.
Description
Bellis perennis is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 20 centimetres (8 inches) in height.[4] It has short creeping rhizomes and rosettes of small rounded or spoon-shaped leaves that are from 2 to 5 cm (3⁄4–2 in) long and grow flat to the ground. The species habitually colonises lawns, and is difficult to eradicate by mowing, hence the term 'lawn daisy'. It blooms from March to September[4] and exhibits the phenomenon of heliotropism, in which the flowers follow the position of the sun in the sky.
The flowerheads are composite, about 2 to 3 cm (3⁄4–1 1⁄4 in) in diameter, in the form of a pseudanthium, consisting of many sessile flowers with white ray florets (often tipped red) and yellow disc florets. Each inflorescence is borne on a single leafless stem 2 to 10 cm (3⁄4–4 in), rarely 15 cm (6 in) tall. The capitulum, or disc of florets, is surrounded by two rows of green bracts known as "phyllaries".[5] The achenes are without pappus.[6]
Etymology
Bellis may come from bellus, Latin for "pretty", and perennis is Latin for "everlasting".[7]
The name "daisy", possibly originating with this plant,[4] is considered a corruption of "day's eye",[8] because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning. Geoffrey Chaucer called it "eye of the day". In Medieval times, Bellis perennis or the English Daisy was commonly known as "Mary's Rose".[9] It is also known as bone flower.[10]
Historically, the plant has also been widely known as bruisewort, and occasionally woundwort (although this name is now more closely associated with the genus Stachys).
Distribution and habitat
Bellis perennis is native to western, central and northern Europe, including remote islands such as the Faroe Islands, but has become widely naturalised in most temperate regions, including the Americas[11][12] and Australasia. It prefers field-like habitats.[4]
Cultivation
The species generally blooms from early to midsummer, although when grown under ideal conditions, it has a very long flowering season and will even produce a few flowers in the middle of mild winters.[7][13]
It can generally be grown where minimum temperatures are above −35 °C (−30 °F), in full sun to partial shade conditions, and requires little or no maintenance. It has no known serious insect or disease problems and can generally be grown in most well-drained soils. The plant may be propagated either by seed after the last frost, or by division after flowering.[7][14]
Though not native to the United States,[15] the species is still considered a valuable ground cover in certain garden settings (e.g., as part of English or cottage inspired gardens, as well as spring meadows where low growth and some color is desired in parallel with minimal care and maintenance while helping to crowd out noxious weeds once established and naturalised).
Numerous single- and double-flowered varieties are in cultivation, producing flat or spherical blooms in a range of sizes (1 to 6 cm or 3⁄8 to 2 3⁄8 in) and colours (red, pink and white). They are generally grown from seed as biennial bedding plants. They can also be purchased as plugs in Spring.
It has been reported to be mostly self-fertilizing, but some plants may be self-sterile.[16]
Uses
Bellis perennis may be used as a potherb. Young leaves can be eaten raw in salads,[17] or cooked, though the leaves become increasingly astringent with age.[7] Flower buds and petals can be eaten raw in sandwiches, soups and salads.[13] It is also used as a tea and as a vitamin supplement.[11]
B. perennis has astringent properties and has been used in herbal medicine.[18]
Daisies have traditionally been used for making daisy chains in children's games.[19]
Culture
Daisy is used as a feminine name, and sometimes as a nickname for people named Margaret, after the French name for the oxeye daisy, marguerite.
The daisy is the national flower of the Netherlands.[20]
Gallery
- Bellis perennis
Leaves suddenly broaden to their ends
Leaves frequently prostrate
Flower head
Flower head maturing to a cone
Individual yellow 5-petalled flowers
Individual flower
Immature flowers often particularly reddened
Horticultural example
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References
- ↑ The source The Plant List used was the International Compositae Alliance. "Bellis perennis L.". The Plant List; Version 1. (published on the internet). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. 2010. http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/gcc-29324.
- ↑ "Bellis". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Bellis.
- ↑ "Philosophia perennis". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosophia+perennis.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Spellenberg, Richard (2001). National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region (rev ed.). Knopf. pp. 359. ISBN 978-0-375-40233-3. https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/359/.
- ↑ Stace, C. A. (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. p. 749. ISBN 9780521707725.
- ↑ Parnell, J. and Curtis. 2012. Webb's An Irish Flora. Cork University Press ISBN:978-1-85918-478-3
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Bellis perennis L.". Missouri Botanical Garden Bellis perennis. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/b749/bellis-perennis.aspx.
- ↑ "daisy facts, information, pictures – Encyclopedia.com articles about daisy". http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/daisy.aspx.
- ↑ The Plant-Lore and Garden-Craft of Shakespeare, by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe. W. Satchell and Company, London, 1884
- ↑ Nowick, Elaine (2014). Historical Common Names of Great Plains Plants, with Scientific Names Index: Volume II: Scientific Names Index. Lulu.com. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-60962-060-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=STTRCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA66.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Bellis perennis Linnaeus". Flora of North America. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200023530.
- ↑ PLANTS Profile., "Bellis perennis L. lawndaisy", USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=bepe2
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Bellis perennis L". Plants for a Future database. http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Bellis+perennis.
- ↑ "USDA Zones". USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/.
- ↑ "USDA Plants Profile for Bellis perennis (lawndaisy)". usda.gov. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=BEPE2.
- ↑ Warwick, S. I.; Briggs, D. (September 1979). "The Genecology of Lawn Weeds". New Phytologist 83 (2): 509–536. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1979.tb07616.x. ISSN 0028-646X.
- ↑ Budwig, Johanna (1956). Krebs – ein Fettproblem, richtige Wahl und Verwendung der Fette. Hyperion-Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau, p. 44: recipe for cancer patients.
- ↑ Howard, Michael (1987). Traditional Folk Remedies. Century, p. 129.
- ↑ "Children's 'right to play'". BBC News. BBC. 2002-08-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/2176467.stm.
- ↑ "Madeliefje verkozen tot nationale bloem". 4 June 2023. https://nos.nl/artikel/2477682-madeliefje-verkozen-tot-nationale-bloem.
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q26158 entry
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