Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Glebionis
Species: G. segetum
Binomial name: Glebionis segetum
Syn: Chrysanthemum segetum, Xantophthalmum segetum
Common names: Corn Marigold and Corn Daisy.
Glebionis segetum (Chrysanthemum segetum) is a species of the genus Glebionis, probably native only to the eastern Mediterranean region. it was a common weed in cornfields hence its common name: The Corn Marigold must have been a serious weed during the 13th century in Scotland as a law of Alexander II states that if a farmer allows so much as a single plant to produce seed in amongst his crops then he will be fined a sheep.
It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall, with spirally arranged, deeply lobed leaves 5–20 cm long.
The flowers are bright yellow, produced in capitulum (flowerheads) 3.5-5.5 cm diameter, with a ring of ray florets and a centre of disc florets. This common plant flowers nearly all the year round.It is widely naturalised outside of its native range, colonising western and central Europe with early human agriculture; it can be an invasive weed in some areas.
It was formerly treated in the genus Chrysanthemum, but under a recent decision of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, that genus has been redefined with a different circumscription to include the economically important florist's chrysanthemum.
In New Zealand, it is most often found as an arable weed growing on a range of soils with a distinct preference for light and moderately acid soils. it can also be found on other disturbed sites such as rubbish tips, road verges, waste ground and even over-grazed pasture.
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