The common daisy certainly lives up to its name, but isn't it a glorious sight to see an otherwise boring green lawn come alive with these fallen stars of white and yellow? An even more magical sight when they become pink tinged because 'the faeries sit on them' when they close up at night.
Interestingly, researchers have studied daisies in Africa and have discovered that those which close at night produce cryptic colouration on the lower surfaces of their 'petals' to camouflage them from herbivores. Whether or not this applies to our native common daisy, I am not sure, and they have only studied one plant family so far.
A single daisy head isn't, in fact, just one flower, it is a composite of many tiny flowers which make up the bright yellow centre and the white ray-florets which appear like petals. Daisies are perennial herbs, so they will keep popping back up year after year, providing a valuable nectar source for bumblebees, honeybees and hoverflies.
References:
Rose, F (2006) The Wild Flower Key, Penguin Books Ltd.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190830112819.htm (accessed 09/05/2020)
https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/daisy (accessed 09/05/2020)
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/common-daisy (accessed 09/05/2020)
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