DAISY

28th April 2024

QUOTATION

Without the bed her other fair hand was,

On the green coverlet, whose perfect white

Showed like an April daisy on the grass,

With pearly sweat resembling dew of night.

Her eyes like marigolds, had sheathed their light,

And, canopied in darkness, sweetly lay,

Till they might open to adorn the day.

RAPE of LUCRECE: Lines 393-399

DAISY (Bellis perennis)

Shakespeare compares Lucrece’s hand lying on the green bed covers to a Daisy on the grass and he futher compares her eyes to closed Marigolds. Daisies and Marigolds are both members of the Daisy family (ASTERACEAE), and they both close up their petals at night, ready to reopen in the sun. The name Daisy was originally ‘Daeges Eage’, the Day’s Eye, in old English. Daisies were also used in herbal medicine for wounds and other medicinal needs.

Daisies are probably are best known wild flower. They are great adapters and can survive in a wide range of habitats, rural and urban. Daisies and dandelions are both in the Daisy Family, both grow unplanted in lawns but many people tolerate or enjoy Daisies but hunt down Dandelions with weedkiller.

More Information

BSBI Plant Atlas: Bellis perennis

Folger Shakespeare: Search Shakespeare Species

Old English Word Horde: Daeges Eage (Daisy)

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