Plants to look for in July — Ox Eye Daisy

The name daisy is thought to come from the Old English 'daes eag' meaning ‘day’s eye’ due the way in which lawn daisies, open in the day and close in the evening. The Ox eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) is similar to the lawn daisies, but they have larger flowers, which can be up to 6cm across with much longer stems. They have two types of leaves. Those nearer the bottom are spoon-shaped, while those on the stem are toothed and more rectangular. They belong to a group of plants called the Compositae or Asteraceae, one of the largest and most widespread of flowering plant families, which includes chrysanthemums, dandelions and thistles. Each individual daisy is in fact not one, single flower but many! The yellow circle in the middle is made up of tiny female and male disc flowers while the white ‘petals’ are individual ray flowers. The cluster of flowers all together is known as the head.

For more info see https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/oxeye-daisy