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Great Double Daisy
Bellis perennis var. Major Flore Pleno
45.8132, 15.977
Field Notes
Description:
It is a herbaceous plant with short creeping rhizomes and small rounded or spoon-shaped evergreen leaves 2–5 cm long, which grow close to ground. The flowerheads are 2–3 cm in diameter, with white ray florets (often tipped red) and yellow disc florets. Although many people think that the flower had a yellow centre with white petals this is not the case. Each individual "petal" is itself an individual flower. In the centre there are many tiny yellow flowers also. The different colours and styles of flower work together in order to attract insects. This type of flower is known as a composite flower. They are produced on leafless stems 2–10 cm (rarely 15 cm) tall. The lawn daisy is a dicot.Several cultivars and hybrids have been selected with much larger flower heads up to 5–6 cm diameter and with light pink to purple-red ray florets.
Habitat:
It is native to western, central and northern Europe.
Notes:
It has astringent properties and has been used in folk medicine. In ancient Rome, the surgeons who accompanied Roman legions into battle would order their slaves to pick sacks full of daisies in order to extract their juice. Bandages were soaked in this juice and would then be used to bind sword and spear cuts.
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