| Glebionis segetum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Glebionis |
| Species: | G. segetum |
| Binomial name | |
| Glebionis segetum (L.) Fourr. |
|
Glebionis segetum (syn. Chrysanthemum segetum) is a species of the genus Glebionis, probably native only to the eastern Mediterranean region. Common names include Corn Marigold and Corn Daisy.
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 capitulae (flowerheads) 3.5-5.5 cm diameter, with a ring of ray florets and a centre of disc florets.
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 Gaelic the plant was known as Brenanbroi which translates as that which rotteth corn.[1]
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.[2]
A Marigold was the emblem of Mary Queen of Scots.
In Crete, Greece, the leaves and the tender shoots of a variety called neromantilida (νερομαντηλίδα) are eaten raw in salads or browned in hot olive oil by the locals.[3]