I’ve discussed Oxeye Daisy before. I use the old G & C name of Chrysanthemum
leucanthemum, but the currently accepted name is Leucanthemum vulgare. Many people find this invasive species to be
attractive, but it’s nasty enough to have been declared by the State of Ohio
It would be nice if these weevils, found on just about every
Oxeye flower, actually killed the plant.
The weevils make a meal here, but do nothing to keep each plant from
producing thousands of seeds each year.
Oxeye Daisy isn’t a mere casual occurrence. The fields are full of them. If I were managing for cropland, hay or
pasture, I could easily get rid of the invaders. It’s much more difficult to try to erase a
single species from a diverse collection of native plants.
Many years ago, I was on a tour that included a prairie
opening full of Oxeye Daisies and the question came up about possible harm to
the prairie from these abundant plants.
Our guide told us that the Oxeye wasn’t a problem because it didn’t
compete with the existing plants. I
don’t believe there’s any non-competitive plant. Every plant uses resources that could be used
by some other species. Vigor displayed
by one plant means that there must be decline in another. The fact that all visible plants look healthy
shouldn’t be interpreted to mean that no plants have suffered. It’s hard to see plants that no longer exist.
Some areas show very little infestation. The fact that these sites also display a
different plant composition than the surrounding area suggests that there may
be some soil related conditions that aren’t as suitable for certain plants to
grow. A detailed soil investigation may
be in order here.
New plants can develop from seeds, but the large masses of
plants are the results of spreading rhizomes.
In this example, what was once a single stemmed plant has sent rhizomes
in eight different directions.
What was a single stalk last year, is now a group of
eight. Each stalk becomes an independent
plant as the rhizomes produce new roots.
Pulling the plants by hand could offer some control, but it
would not be an effective method of eliminating the plant from the field. Both the stem and rhizome are quite brittle
and easy to break. Even if you managed
to pull out some roots, there would be enough rhizome left to grow a new
plant. I pull Oxeye Daisies that I find
growing in areas not yet infested by the species. I hope this will slow their advance into new
territories.
In areas like this, all I can do is stand and stare. The only good thing is the fact that most of
the native plants are able to compete well enough to maintain a good diversity
of species in the field. In disturbed
ground, Oxeye Daisies are able to form solid colonies that preclude the
colonization of other species. In a
stand of existing vegetation, the best they seem able to do is become another
member of the group. For now, I’ll keep
thinking about this species. Maybe by
the time I’ve eliminated all of the other invasive species at Blue Jay Barrens,
I’ll have an answer for this one.
