By Clare Caldeira (photos by Emily Harvey)
Lagenophora are a small genus of daisies found in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. It is NOT A WEED.
On 31 August 2024, our weeders were delighted to discover this forgotten member of our bushland in a biodiverse patch that had been meticulously hand-weeded. The name Lagenophora comes from the new latin word lageno or the Greek lagynos meaning large flask and phora – bearing. The common name for many species in this genus is Bottle Daisy.
The plant consists of a flattish rosette of soft green leaves scalloped around the edge and throws up long flowering stalks from under the rosette. The entire plant is covered with tiny hairs. The flower starts out with many white petals or florets if you know about how daisies work. What a delightful harbinger to spring!
We think our patch containing a decent little population may be Lagenophora huegelii although this has not been confirmed. There was a huge scandal in 2017 when Australian customs destroyed 106 specimens including 6 type specimens that were being reimported to Australia from its herbarium collection abroad.
Currently we are examining 3 possible species. Lagenophora gracilis, L. hugelii, and L. platysperma. L. platysperma has been recorded in our vicinity in Florabase.
