Through our new virtual programming series, Nature in your Neighborhood, we challenged volunteers to go out into their neighborhoods or backyards to see what plants sparked their interest. Whether plants are native or non native, we can all appreciate a connection to nature and the curiosity that it can spark!
By: Irene Chen
One summer a few years ago, my mom decided to decorate our front yard with flowers. She settled on a variety of flowers and bushes of all sorts of colors and even chose out some decorations. However, a few weeks later only a few lived, one of them being these white daisies, also known as cape marguerites.
Cape marguerites are native to Canary Island in Macaronesia. Now it naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, East Europe, Ukraine, Germany, and Italy. They bloom during late spring to early fall and are accessible in many hues including yellow, pink and purple. Although cape marguerites are fairly easy to grow they are susceptible to numerous pests like aphids, mites, and thrips making it hard for them to survive.
FUN FACTS
After the sun goes down at night, daisies close their petals as a way to camouflage themselves from herbivores. They are often used as ornamental plants in gardens and parks and are found in many bouquets and flower arrangements because they last for longer periods of time after they are cut.
TRADITIONAL USE AND BENEFIT
Marguerite Daisies are used to treat coughs, asthma, and nervous excitability. Their leaves can be used in wound dressings and the flowers can be made into an eye lotion.