Plant · P-139

Oxeye Daisy

Leucanthemum vulgare

Oxeye Daisy is a low, spreading ground cover with a nectar-rich flower that draws pollinators, and its acrid sap is unappealing enough to insects that it works as a mild repellent. It spreads readily by both seed and rhizome from a large, long-lived seedbank, resprouting if any root is left behind, and cattle tend to graze around it rather than eat it - letting it claim more pasture each season it goes unmanaged. It is listed as a noxious weed in parts of Texas, where it cannot legally be sold, distributed or imported; young spring shoots and roots are edible in small amounts, and the plant has a history of use for coughs, bruises and skin irritation.