HPIPM:Oxeye daisy

Taxonomy

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Plantae
Phylum	Magnoliophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Superorder	Asteranae
Order	Asterales
Family	Asteraceae
Subfamily	Asteroideae
Tribe	Anthemideae
Subtribe	Leucantheminae
Genus	Leucanthemum

Scientific Name

Leucanthemum vulgare

Scientific Name Synonyms

Leucanthemum leucanthemum

Chrysanthemum leucanthemum

Common Name

oxeye daisy

Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)

Compiled by Jane Mangold, Montana State University

and Marjolein Schat, Montana State University from the following sources:

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LEVU

http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=LEUVUL

http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weed_info/Leucanthemum_vulgare.html

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/chyle.htm

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/oxeye_daisy.htm

Identification and Life Cycle

Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) is a perennial weed in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Plants develop many stems 1 to 3 feet tall. Stems are slender and erect and can develop from upturned rhizomes or from a root crown. Oxeye daisy has two types of leaves. Basal leaves are stalked, spoon shaped, and broadly toothed. They grow 2 to 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. Stem leaves are alternate, smooth and dark green. Leaf stalks are short and clasp the stem. Stems produce solitary flower heads each with 15 to 30 white ray florets and a compact yellow disc with a depressed center. Seeds are flat, 1/10 inch long, dark gray at maturity, have 10 ribs, and have no pappus. The rhizomes are shallow and unbranched.

Habitats

Oxeye daisy is common in native grasslands, pastures, fields, disturbed areas, waste areas, open woods, meadows, and roadsides.

Impacts

Oxeye daisy can form dense communities that replace native grasses in pastures and have been shown to reduce overall plant diversity. Heavy infestations can increase the chance of soil erosion. Oxeye daisy is also a host for several viruses that affect crops, including yellow dwarf virus of potatoes.

Biology and Ecology

Oxeye daisy can reproduce both from seeds and from the roots. Flowers bloom from June to August. On average each plant can produce 500 seeds but up to 26,000 seeds per plant have been reported. Seeds are spread by wind or animals and can remain viable in the seedbank for 2 to 3 years.

Management Approaches

Oxeye daisy can be difficult to eradicate due to the potential to form large long lived seed banks, and the ability to generate new stems from buds on rhizome fragments.

Biological Control

There are no insect or pathogen biological control agents for oxeye daisy. Horses, goats, and sheep will graze oxeye daisy. Confining goats and sheep to infestations before oxeye daisy flowers and removing them when half of the grass is utilized can control oxeye daisy.

Mechanical and Cultural Control

Small infestations can be hand pulled or dug up before flowering occurs, however, care must be taken to remove as much of the rhizome as possible. Tillage practices that clean crop fields of weeds generally prevent oxeye daisy from becoming problematic in crops fields, but tilling can spread rhizome fragments and move seed around and between fields. Competition with other species can reduce the invasiveness of oxeye daisy. Fertilization can offer some control in pastures as well because competing grasses respond more favorably to the fertilizer than oxeye daisy does, therefore competition increases.

Chemical Control

There are a variety of chemical control options for oxeye daisy. For herbicide recommendations for specific grain rotations and weeds in Montana, please see the MSU Herbicide Chooser Tool.

Examples of herbicides that can be used to manage oxeye daisy

Consult herbicide labels for additional rate, application, and safety information. Additional herbicide information can be found at http://www.greenbook.net.

Due to constantly changing labels, laws and regulations, the sponsors of this web site assume no liability for the suggested use of any chemicals noted in the management section. Contact your local pest management personnel for current information on labeled pesticides that can be used for the intended plant disease, insect pest or weed.

References

For more information and images please visit IPM Bugwood. http://www.ipmimages.org/search/action.cfm?q=oxeye%20daisy&Start=1&results=78