Common daisy |
Bellis perennis 'Tasso Deep Rose'
In reality, however, each plant is more or less protected. So it is not allowed to uproot all the daisies in the world, apart from the fact that it would never create.
But of course one may pick daisies without hesitation, for example, to bind wreaths or to pluck them as a love oracle.
As ancient healing plant the common daisy should help externally and internally against all kinds of diseases, but in today's medicine, it does not matter anymore. An exception is the homeopathy.
The leaves and flowers of the common daisy are edible and are suitable as addition and decoration of salads. Pickled buds can serve as a substitute for capers. The cooked leaves yield a vitamin-rich vegetable. If they are consumed in high doses, however, the Daisy unfolds its toxic impact.
The inner yellow tubular florets are hermaphroditic and proterandrous (i.e. the stamens mature before the carpels), the external, mostly white ray florets are female.
The leaves and stems of the daisy are finely haired
After fertilization, the typical fruits arise (achenes), that are characteristic for composites. At the daisy, they do not have a flight organ, they are only somewhat scattered by the wind. Will they get eaten by animals, they can pass through the gastrointestinal tract unaffected.
The only about 1 mm large seeds can perfectly hide in commercially available seeds and have spread in this way on all continents. Vegetative, the daisy multiplies by sprouting from the rootstock.
Phototropism and thermonasty
Like the sunflowers, the daisies turn their flower heads towards the sun. In the evening and in rainy weather, the flower heads are be closed and adopt a nodding attitude. The movement of the flower heads are based on phototropism: In this case, the tissue facing away from the light grows faster than that of the light-exposed side. The movement of the ray florets is based on thermonasty: In the case of flower opening, it is so that the upper surface of the ligulate florets in heat growing faster than the lower surface. At low temperatures, the underside grows faster.
Historical publications
Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566) discussed the common daisy together with the ox-eye daisy in one chapter. The daisies, he writes, would have two sexes, a large one (marguerite) and a small one (daisy). The latter species, he divides into a wild and a cultivated form, which were called "Monatsblum". Of which there were many varieties: double flowered, single flowered, white, red or white and red. It would be called Bellis minor hortensis. The wild form, which would called Bellis sylvestris minor, was also known as "Zeitlößlin". Their leaves are roundish or oblong, spread out on the ground and would resemble those of the manyseeds (Polycarpon).
The buds of the daysies were borne on span-long, thin, round stalks. The flowers would consist of 3–25 leaves that grows around the "apple" (yellow center). Daisies would be a good herb against pimples and "broken skulls". Crushed leaves would heal wounds.