Common Daisy
Scientific Name: Bellis perennis L.
Family: Asteraceae
MORPHOLOGY
Growth habit and size: Perennial herbaceous, rhizomatous plant, slow-growing, with simple stems, generally leafless and pubescent; height 5÷15 cm.
Stem: Simple leafless flowering, pubescent stems.
Leaves: All leaves inserted on the rhizome in a basal rosette, spatulate, toothed or crenulate, abruptly narrowing into the petiole, hairy when young then becoming glabrous.
Flowers: The flowers are solitary apical capitula, the inflorescences have a receptacle twice the diameter, convex and conical composed of 2 rows of pubescent bracts, linear in shape with obtuse apex, all of the same length. The peripheral flowers are ligulate, white, often tinged with deep pink or even purplish red externally; the disc comprises hermaphrodite, tubular, yellow flowers. It blooms all year round.
Fruits and seeds: The fruits are small oval achenes, without pappus.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
It grows throughout Italy from sea level to 2,000 m. It is found in meadows, fallow lands, and generally in trampled places.
USE
The tender leaves of this plant are edible, used raw in mixed salads. They are recognized for their antispasmodic, expectorant, and vulnerary properties. For external use, the vulnerary action is particularly evident in the healing of wounds, mouth ulcers, gums, and throat. The distilled water is effective as an eyewash in conjunctivitis. Before taking any plant-based product (medicinal or non-medicinal) for therapeutic purposes or similar, it is always advisable to consult a doctor.
INTERESTING FACTS
The peripheral flowers tilt and close at night and in cloudy weather and reopen in the morning and when the sun reappears. The arrangement of the rosette, pressed to the ground, prevents it from being grazed by livestock and mown, allowing the Daisy to spread in dense and extensive colonies, preventing the development of other herbaceous vegetation. Daisy flowers tolerate very cold temperatures without being damaged, even down to -15 degrees Celsius in dry air conditions. In the language of flowers, it evokes innocence, grace, kindness, but also says “I’m taking my time”, “I’ll think about it”, it’s the flower of those who love to procrastinate. In the Middle Ages, it was attributed with prophetic abilities in love, probably from which the famous “loves me, loves me not” also applies to the larger common daisy.
Photo: Kindly provided by Claudio Farinati
