By mid May, the fields, meadows and highway medians of Missouri are adorned with beautiful swaths of ox-eye daisies. A native of Europe and Asia, this perennial wildflower spreads by seeds and by rhizomes, explaining both its tenacity and its ability to spread.
Indeed, this wildflower may appear in a wide variety of habitats, including lawns, abandoned fields and open woodlands. Its presence in pastures may degrade their nutritional value and, on dairy farms, the daisies may taint the flavor of the milk.
But, for most of us, these "invasive" plants beautify the landscape. After all, we humans introduced them.
