Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017
The flower, with its white rays and golden disc, has small resemblance to an ox's eye, but at dusk it shines out from the mowinggrass like a fallen moon
Marcus Woodward, English naturalist, Country Contentments, 1925)
Oxeye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum L.), a European perennial, was brought to North America as an ornamental. The plant is still grown in decorative gardens and it is one parent of ‘Shasta’ daisy (Holm et al. 1997). Tradition says that the oxeye daisy crept out of Massachusetts Governor Endicott's garden between Tuesdays, and claimed the whole nation in two centuries (Haughton 1978). It also arrived as a contaminant in imported hay and grain seeds (Haughton 1978). Oxeye daisy escaped cultivation and also spread quite readily from agricultural activities to become an aggressive competitor. It often forms thick patches, especially in cattle-grazed areas, reducing hay or forage production (Olson and Wallander 1999). Consequently, oxeye daisy has been declared a noxious weed in many areas (Holm et al. 1997). It is found throughout most of the United States and north into southern Canada from Labrador to British Columbia (USDA 1970).