Species: Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Family: Asters (ASTERACEAE or COMPOSITAE)
Category: Flowering Plants
Location: NW
A. Flowering Plants
More extensive information on flowering plants can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Asters (ASTERACEAE or COMPOSITAE)
This is one of the largest worldwide flowering plant families and is well represented in the UK. The name Compositae refers to the clustering of the flowers (called florets) into compact heads, so that an entire cluster represents a single 'flower'. They also have one-seeded fruits called achenes.
C. Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
This ubiquitous, highly successful native is one of the most numerous plants in the cemetery, flowering from May.
Oxeye Daisies were mentioned in the original May 1992 report on the cemetery when it was inducted into what was then the West Sussex Sites of Nature Conservation Importance scheme. (That has since become the Local Wildlife Site scheme.) This plant species, along with Common Knapweed, Greater Bird's-foot-trefoil and Upright Brome, were mentioned as plant species "which are associated with unimproved herb-rich 'old meadows'". "Only 3% of such unimproved grasslands that were present in the 1940s still retain significant ecological interest", the report also said, indicating that Heene Cemetery remains very much part of that shrinking picture.
The Oxeye Daisy persists today in Heene Cemetery. It is immensely valuable as a food source for a wide range of wild pollinators. Enjoy their presence in the cemetery close-up, and you will also be witness to a variety of insect life that knows about this uncomplicated flower.
We are in good company too. Visit The Queen's Meadow at the west end of London's Green Park and you will find the Oxeye Daisy mentioned on an information panel. At the right time of the year, you will also see this splendid flower there alongside Red Clover and Yellow Rattle. Launched in 2013 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the late Queen's Coronation, this one-acre meadow in central London was part of a project to create a new meadow in every UK county. The panel shows a photograph of HRH The Prince of Wales in 2016, helping to sow the meadow with Oxeye Daisies and other wild flowers that had been taken from two ancient meadows in West Sussex and Ealing. (More information can be found at the Coronation Meadows website from where you can download a PDF detailing a dozen common plants that you might enjoy seeing in meadows. Heene Cemetery is lucky to have 11 of these.)
The large daisy-like flowers are balsamic and relieve catarrh and coughs, or an infusion can be drunk. The lotion is good for wounds and bruises. A root extract is taken for night sweats.
Images
Oxeye Daisy
The Oxeye Daisy is a highly successful native, one of the most numerous plants in the cemetery, flowering from May.
Oxeye Daisy
The large daisy-like flowers of the Oxeye Daisy are balsamic and relieve catarrh and coughs, or an infusion can be drunk.
Oxeye Daisy
Oxeye Daisy
The lotion of the Oxeye Daisy is good for wounds and bruises. A root extract is taken for night sweats.
