June 2007 – Ox-Eye Daisy

In early June parts of the cemetery are covered with this pretty white flower.

The Ox-Eye daisy is a typical meadow flower; it thrives in a wide range of conditions and prefers heavy and damp soils. Also known as Marguerite it is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia. It is also sometimes called the Moon Daisy or Dog Daisy and is very common in the English countryside in early summer.

It is a perennial prostrate herb with small, yellow centered white flower heads growing on the end of the stem about 1 to 2 feet high. The stem is mostly unbranched and sprouts laterally from a creeping rootstock. The leaves are dark green, small and coarsely toothed; those near the root are rounder than those on the stem, and are on long stalks, those on the stem are oblong and stalkless.

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