Oxeye Daisy
Leucanthemum vulgare
Found in fields, roadsides, pastures, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 1–3 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to October
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 43 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
28CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Chrysanthemum
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Autoplusia egenaBean-Leaf Skeletonizer Moth
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
- Condica sutorThe Cobbler, Cobbler Groundling
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Lascoria ambigualisAmbiguous Moth, Ambiguous Litter Moth
Show all 28
- Lorita scarificataChrysanthemum Flower Borer
- Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Xanthotype urticariaFalse Crocus Geometer
- Xestia elimataSouthern Variable Dart, Southern Pine Dart
- Pelochrista zomonana
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
3Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Leucanthemum
- Dianthidium simile
- Osmia coloradensis
- Protandrena illinoiensis
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Chrysanthemum
- Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow or white
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications