Oxeye Daisy
LAWRENCE JENKINS
E. R. JACKMAN
OXEYE DAISYChrysanthemum leucanthemum var. pinnatifidumShowing stem with
flowers and leaves, nature of root growth and seed. Seed magnified 10 diameters.
Oregon State System of Higher Education
Federal Cooperative Extension Service
Oregon State College
Extension Bulletin 575
Corvallis
November 1941
Oxeye Daisy
(Chrysanthemum leucanthemum var. pinnatifidum)
By LAWRENCE JENKINS and E. R. JACKMAN*
Illustrations by Cathrine Davis Young
Other names: White daisy, White-weed, Field daisy, Marguerite, Poorland flower.
Oxeye daisy is an attractive perennial, common throughout most of Oregon. It is found in meadows, pastures, and waste places. It grows well on
poor, dry soil. This daisy was originally planted as an ornamental and now has
escaped cultivation and "gone native." It reproduces by seed and shallow rootstocks and grows erect from 1 to 3 feet tall.
Stems are nearly smooth, slender, frequently grooved, and sometimes
branching near the top. Basal leaves are oblong and scalloped along the margins, cutting in halfway to the midrib. These lower leaves are borne on stems
that are commonly about as long as the leaves themselves. Upper leaves are
arranged alternately, are narrow, and often clasp the stem. Flowerheads are
borne individually on the tips of long slender stems. They are from 1I to 2
inches across, with yellow centers, and have from 20 to 30 white rays slightly
notched at the tip. Seed is about -riu of an inch long, usually flat on one side
and curved on the other, with 8 to 10 white ridges down the side. The area
between the ridges is light grey.
law.
Oregon seed law. Oxeye daisy is classed as noxious by the Oregon seed
If present in forage crop seeds, that fact must be stated on the label,
together with the approximate number of seeds per pound.
Damage. This weed is mainly a menace in pastures. Sheep will eat it
but cattle prefer other things. Thus it is allowed to seed and spread while
good grasses are eaten. Oxeye daisy does some slight damage to seed growers,
sometimes necessitating extra cleaning charges and waste of good seed in
removing it.
Control. Practically all the roots of this weed are confined to the top foot
of soil, making eradication comparatively easy. It is spread mainly through
crop seed. One should avoid the weed by purchasing daisy-free seed.
Shallow plowing followed by a period of summer fallow will control it.
This weed is seldom troublesome on land of good fertility. Proper rotations
and improved fertility of the land' will do much to suppress it. An application
of sodium chlorate either sprayed on the plants when they are mature or
applied dry in the spring can be used to control the pest on small areas. The
spray should be mixed at the rate of 1 pound of sodium chlorate to a gallon of
water. Two gallons of this solution or 2 pounds of the chemical are enough
for 1 square rod. Additional information on the control of perennial weeds
is available in Extension Bulletin 510.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors thank Dr. Helen M. Gilkey, Curator of the Her-
barium, for reading the manuscript and checking the description of the plant. Professor
G. R. Hyslop, In Charge, Division of Plant Industries, made many helpful suggestions.
E. R. Jackman is Extension Specialist in Farm Crops and Lawrence Jenkins is
Assistant Extension Specialist in Farm Crops at Oregon State College.
Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics
Wm. A. Schoenfeld, Director
Oregon State College and United States Department of Agriculture, Cooperating
Printed and distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914