Habitat, Spread and Impacts

Habitat

In Montana, oxeye daisy is commonly found in pastures and hay meadows, along roads, railroads, streams and lakes, in gardens and lawns, in open and thick woodlands, and along irrigation ditches.  It usually grows on mesic sites.  It grows on a wide range of soil textures, has moderate requirement for nitrogen, and is more abundant on poorer soils. It is found more often on basic or neutral soils and less often on acidic soils.  It has a low tolerance for shade and prefers open sites. History indicates oxeye daisy is well adapted to disturbances associated with humans.  It is in Far Eastern legends, achenes have been documented from the Iron Age (eight century BC), from the Roman period (first century BC), and from post-glacial Britain.

Spread

Oxeye daisy is native to Europe north to Scandinavia and Lapland, the British Isles, Russia and central Asia. It was imported to North America as an ornamental, and it has been included in popular “wildflower” seed mixes.  Along with being an escaped ornamental, oxeye daisy was brought to North America as a contaminant of imported hay and grain seeds.

Oxeye daisy achenes have no specialized morphological features facilitating dispersal.  A dispersal study in England found few seeds traveled farther than three feet from the parent plants.  Sheep grazing and cutting hay treatments had little effect on seed dispersal distance in that study, but more seeds were dispersed in the grazed treatment than the hay-cut treatment, probably because cutting removed unripe seed and seed heads.  The study suggests oxeye daisy populations may be more dispersal limited than site limited.

Long distant spread of oxeye daisy is dependent on factors other than morphological features of the achene.  Probable vectors of spread include people, vehicles, and animals.  Livestock and wild ungulates likely transport seeds embedded in their fur and in soil on their hooves. Seed-eating birds also are likely vectors.  People hiking, riding horseback, or driving all-terrain vehicles may transport seeds long distances.  Movement of soil containing seeds on equipment, vehicles, and shoes is a probable means of long-distant transport. Oxeye daisy seeds can spread from infested hay meadows when plants with flowers are baled in hay.

Impacts

Oxeye daisy is predominantly a weed of pastures and hayland where it crowds-out preferred forage species reducing carrying capacity for livestock and the value of hay.  Where it spreads onto rangeland it will reduce livestock forage and plant community diversity. Allelopathic compounds have not been found in oxeye daisy.  However, one study found a high number of root-feeding nematodes associated with the roots of oxeye daisy.  There is evidence that the soil microbial community of a plant can suppress the growth of neighboring species, and association with nematodes may suppress other species growing with oxeye daisy.  Oxeye daisy was used in Europe as a salad green.

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Last Modified: 03/19/2008