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

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

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 Mo ...

(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") , ...

). 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 bot ...

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

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. 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 leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

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 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 ...

-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 regula ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

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 op ...

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 Ten ...

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, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...

and

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

it is common in the coastal regions, on

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

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 James Gordon Cheers (born 1954) owned a wholesale carnivorous plant nursery in southeast Australia. He went on to publish ''Carnivorous Plants'' (1983) and ''A Guide to Carnivorous Plants of the World'' (1993). This was followed by ''Killer Plan ...

(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 The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

(AGM) by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...

. 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 "Double-flowered" describes varieties of flowers with extra petals, often containing flowers within flowers. The double-flowered trait is often noted alongside the scientific name with the abbreviation ''fl. pl.'' (''flore pleno'', a Latin ablat ...

daisy-like flowers in shades of white, pink, yellow and purple throughout summer. In the UK climate, they are generally

half-hardy Hardiness of plants describes their ability to survive adverse growing conditions. It is usually limited to discussions of climatic adversity. Thus a plant's ability to tolerate cold, heat, drought, flooding, or wind are typically considered meas ...

, and can be grown from

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

or cuttings, or purchased as young plants to be planted out after all danger of frost has passed.

References

External links