The ox eye daisy is a common field and roadside wild flower
here in the Pacific North West. It also makes
a lovely carefree addition to garden borders, where it attracts beneficial
insects and offers nectar to our very important pollinators.
It is reported as being a European immigrant and sometimes
as invasive. However, just because a
plant that is considered an alien naturalizes itself into a niche in the
environment, does not mean it should be considered invasive or even
unwanted.
Before considering a plant invasive, ask yourself a few
questions:
1. Does it provide
pollen and nectar or other food to important pollinators or native animals?
2. Does it provide ecosystem benefits; such as stabilizing
slopes, slowing erosion, building top soil, providing animal habitat, or
reducing human and domestic animal impacts to the land?
3. Does it increase
or decrease the genetic diversity of an area?
4. Is it useful to
people for food, medicine, or utility and does it grow where they can access
it?
5. Is it crowding out
rare or endangered plants or animals?
Let’s apply these questions to our ox eye daisies:
1. Yes it provides nectar to pollinators and pollen to
beneficial insects, as well as seeds to birds later in the season.
2. Yes, it provides
ecosystem benefits, in that it is often found growing on disturbed slopes,
where it helps stabilize the soil and reduces erosion.
3. Simply by its presence it increases the genetic diversity
by one, the insects and birds that depend on it may also help increase the
genetic diversity of the area.
4. Yes, it is useful to people as food, medicine (see links
below), and for attracting pollinators and beneficial insects to the garden and
to foraging areas.
5. Probably not, but
if so, and someone is committed to tending the threatened native plants, the ox
eye daisies should be weeded out with as little physical and chemical
disruption to the area as possible.
When we really stop to think about it, many of the plants
that are targeted with eradication as aliens or invasive may be better off
ignored, or even embraced, used, and celebrated. The eradication activities are
often more harmful to the environment than the plants that are removed. In addition,
unfortunately, known endemic plants are often targeted as 'invasive,' by
people who have not done their research and make unfounded
assumptions. For more words of caution regarding being overly
quick to judge and destroy plants that are considered alien, as well as a
discussion about who profits from their eradication, please see: http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/NativesVsExotics.htm
Many plants that were once considered alien and invasive have turned out to be indigenous. We owe this knowledge to the botanical archaeology conducted on fire pits and midden mounds, as well as cores taken on lake bed sediments. There is no definitive list of all the plants that were here in North America before contact. However, a truly invasive plant is often easy to recognize. A truly invasive plant quickly crowds out other plants and reduces diversity, over a season or over a number of years. And it does it, right before your eyes. Plants that quickly colonize soil that has been bared for any reason, such as mud or landslides, floods, or fires; even plants those plants that form near monocultures on hillsides or meadows are not necessarily invasive or alien plants. Be sure to do your homework before you undertake or participate in any plant eradication efforts.
Back to our cheerful ox eyes, I’ve never done more than taste these daisies, so I am not an
expert on their use or identification.
Not all daisies are edible, and some are actually insecticidal and may
be toxic to people too. Always be very
sure of your identification of any unfamiliar plant, and study up on the toxic
and poisonous plants in your area, so you know what to be cautions of.
Here are some links to more information on edible,
medicinal, and historic uses of ox eye daisies:
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Comments, questions, tips are always welcome. If you find typos or broken links please leave a comment and I will fix it up as soon as I can!
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If you are interested in herbs and haven’t read my books
yet, your local librarian or bookstore if they can order them for
you! More information can be found
here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/429832.Harvest_McCampbell
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Updated 10.30.15
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Copyright 2014, 2015; all rights reserved. Republishing by permission only. Sharing on the other hand is most welcome.
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Updated 10.30.15
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Copyright 2014, 2015; all rights reserved. Republishing by permission only. Sharing on the other hand is most welcome.
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