Daisy Flowers Bellis Perennis COMMON NAME Standardized: Daisy Other: Common daisy, lawn daisy or English Daisy BOTANICAL NAME Bellis perennis Family: Asteraceae PARTS USED Dried flowers, leaves TYPICAL PREPARATIONS Tinctures, soaps, teas, infusions OVERVIEW The name "daisy" is considered a corruption of "day's eye", because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning. Chaucer called it "eye of the day". In Medieval times, Bellis perennis or the English Daisy was commonly known as "Mary's Rose". It is also known as bone flower. Historically, it has also been commonly known as bruisewort and occasionally woundwort (although the common name woundwort is now more closely associated with Stachys (woundworts)). Bellis perennis is native to western, central and northern Europe, but widely naturalised in most temperate regions including the Americas and Australasia. USESBellis perennis has astringent properties and has been used in herbal medicine. 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 soaked in this juice and would then be used to bind sword and spear cuts. Bellis perennis is still used in homeopathy for wounds and after certain surgical procedures, as well as for blunt trauma in animals. It also have been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea for treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract.