''Argyranthemum frutescens'', known as Paris daisy, marguerite or marguerite daisy, is a perennial

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

known for its flowers. It is native to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

(part of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). Hybrids derived from this species (

garden marguerite Garden marguerites, also known as marguerite daisies, are cultivars of plants in the subtribe Glebionidinae of the family Asteraceae, the great majority being hybrids created in cultivation. One of the genera belonging to the subtribe, ''Argyranthe ...

s) are widely cultivated as ornamental plants in private

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

s and public

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s in many countries, and have naturalized in Italy and southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. There are many

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s, but the most common has white

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

Description

It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

that grows to about . The strongly branched plant often grows

globose A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the ce ...

-bushy with ascending to upright branches. The alternate, more or less fleshy and blue-green leaves are in outline oval to oval-

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

, long and wide. The foliage is green. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s are loose with 4 to 30 daisy-like

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

, white with a yellow center, up to in diameter. In most subspecies, the ligules of the ray

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

s are about 8 mm long, pure white, female and form fertile

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

s, which are triangular to horn-like winged. The achenes of the yellow tubular central flowers are sterile and one-winged. The pappus is always irregularly crown-shaped. The flower is very fragrant. The flower opens its petals in the morning and closes them at night.

Subspecies

List: * ''Argyranthemum frutescens'' subsp. ''canariae'' (Christ) Humphries * ''Argyranthemum frutescens'' subsp. ''foeniculaceum'' (Pit. & Proust) Humphries * ''Argyranthemum frutescens'' subsp. ''frutescens'' * ''Argyranthemum frutescens'' subsp. ''gracilescens'' (Christ) Humphries * ''Argyranthemum frutescens'' subsp. ''pumilum'' Humphries

Distribution and habitat

Like the other ''Argyranthemum'' species, the shrub marguerite originates from the Canary Islands. On

El Hierro El Hierro, nicknamed ''Isla del Meridiano'' (the "Meridian Island"), is the second-smallest and farthest-south and -west of the Canary Islands (an autonomous community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a populatio ...

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third smallest of the eight main islands of this archipelago. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tene ...

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

and Gran Canaria it is common in the coastal regions, on La Palma very rare. Overall, it is the most common species of the genus in the Canary Islands. The plant often grows in succulent shrubbery on well-drained, poor soils in full sun, preferably also near the coast at altitudes up to 700 meters. Along with full sunlight, this plant needs organic matter in high quantities in order to grow, while it also requires very well drained soil. The plant can die if overwhelmed with water. It is tolerant of low temperatures, although it cannot survive freezing. It requires a lot of sunlight and must be protected from the wind.Gordon Cheers (ed.): Botanica . Random House Australia 2003. German edition: Tandem Verlag GmbH 2003, .

Cultivation

''Argyranthemum frutescens'' subsp. ''canariae'' has been given the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the Royal Horticultural Society. Many of the plants grown under the name "''Argyranthemum frutescens''" are

s of

s, some being hybrids between this species and related genera. The cultivars produce prolific single or double-flowered daisy-like flowers in shades of white, pink, yellow and purple throughout summer. In the UK climate, they are generally hardiness (plants), half-hardy, and can be grown from seed or cutting (plant), cuttings, or purchased as young plants to be planted out after all danger of frost has passed.

References

External links