<p style="text-align: justify;"><em><strong>Bellis perennis</strong></em> is a common <a title="Europe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe">European</a> species of <a title="Daisy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy">Daisy</a>, often considered the archetypal <a title="Species" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species">species</a> of that name. Many related plants also share the name "Daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as <strong>Common Daisy</strong>, <strong>Lawn Daisy</strong> or occasionally <strong>English daisy</strong>. It is native to western, central and northern <a title="Europe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe">Europe</a>. The species is widely naturalized in <a title="North America" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America">North America</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-fna_0-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellis_perennis#cite_note-fna-0">[1]</a></sup> and also in South America.<sup id="cite_ref-fna_0-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellis_perennis#cite_note-fna-0">[1]</a></sup></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">It is a <a title="Herbaceous plant" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbaceous_plant">herbaceous plant</a> with short creeping <a title="Rhizome" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome">rhizomes</a> and small rounded or spoon-shaped evergreen leaves 2-5&nbsp;cm long, grows close to ground. The <a title="Inflorescence" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflorescence">flowerheads</a> are 2-3&nbsp;cm in diameter, with white ray florets (often tipped red) and yellow disc florets; they are produced on leafless stems 2-10&nbsp;cm (rarely 15&nbsp;cm) tall. The lawn daisy is a <a title="Dicotyledon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicotyledon">dicot</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Etymology</strong></p>
<p>It is thought that the name "daisy" is a corruption of "day's eye", because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning. <a title="Geoffrey Chaucer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Chaucer">Chaucer</a> called it "eye of the day".</p>
<p>Daisy is also a common girl's name and is a <a title="Nickname" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickname">nickname</a> for girls named Margaret, which originally comes from the Latin word for daisy.</p>
<p><strong>Uses</strong></p>
<p>It is not affected by mowing and is therefore often considered a <a title="Weed" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weed">weed</a> on <a title="Lawn" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn">lawns</a>, though many also value the appearance of the flowers. Several <a title="Cultivar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar">cultivars</a> and <a title="Hybrid (biology)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_(biology)">hybrids</a> have been selected with much larger flower heads up to 5-6&nbsp;cm diameter and with light pink to purple-red ray florets.</p>
<p><em>Bellis perennis</em> has <a title="Astringent" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astringent">astringent</a> properties and has been used in <a title="Traditional medicine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_medicine">folk medicine</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellis_perennis#cite_note-1">[2]</a></sup></p>
<p>Daisies have traditionally been used for making <a title="Garland (decoration)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garland_(decoration)#Daisy_chain">daisy chains</a> in children's games.<sup id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellis_perennis#cite_note-2">[3]</a></sup></p>
<p>In ancient Rome, the surgeons who accompanied Roman legions into battle would order their slaves to pick sacks full of daisies in order to extract their juice. Bandages were then soaked in this juice and then would be used to bind sword and spear cuts.</p>
<p>Ref. : <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellis_perennis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellis_perennis</a></p>