Several quick facts about my favorite flowers – daisies:
The daisy is a flowering plant belonging to the family Asteraceae (also called Compositae).
Daisies belong to the family of ‘vascular plants’ which make up almost 10% of all flowering plants on Earth.
There are approximately 4000 species of daisies of different sizes, shapes and colors.
Daisies are found on every single continent except Antarctica.
Daisies can live in both wet and dry climates, and they are resistant to pesticides and insects. Not a picky plant, daisies grow well both in full sun and in part sun or even shady areas.
The Daisy is a herbaceous plant that can grow from 3 inches to 4 feet (!) in height, depending on the species.
The daisy plant leaf texture varies and can be smooth or covered with trichomes (little hairs).
Some daisy species are annual, lasting only one year, and some are biennial (life cycle ends after two years). The color of the flower depends on the species. The most common daisy is white with a yellow center, but there can be found purple ones with a brown center, red with yellow, orange with yellow, pink with yellow center, yellow with a dark red center, blue with green center and so on.
The flower symbolism associated with the daisy is one of purity, innocence, loyal love, beauty, patience and simplicity.
The name Daisy comes from the Old English “daes eage,” meaning “day’s eye.” The name derives from the way they close their petals in the evening, and open again in the morning, which symbolizes the beginning of a new day.
Daisies have been popular flowers in history and are believed to be more than 4,000 years old.
Daisies have lots of medicinal properties.
Daisy leaves can make a tasty addition to salads (they are closely related to the artichoke and are high in Vitamin C).
The largest game of “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not” was played by 331 people in Milan, Italy. Participants plucked daisy petals to determine if their secret crush loved them back.
Daisies are often depicted in meadows in Medieval paintings and were described as a “flowery mead.”
Egyptian ceramics were decorated with daisies. The English daisy (Bellis perennis) is considered a stubborn weed in North American lawns.
The daisy family was classified by Paul Dietrich Giseke, a German botanist and close friend of the Swedish ‘father of modern taxonomy’ Carl Linnaeus.
A daisy actually consists of two flowers in one. The (usually) white petals count as one flower and the cluster of (usually) tiny yellow disc petals that form the ‘eye’ is technically another.
Daisy leaves can make a tasty addition to salads and contain Vitamin C.
Bees just LOVE daisies. These include Goldenrod, making them an important friend of honey makers.
Now have a look at some daisy photos I’ve taken recently.
Shorena Ratiani 