Big Weed

Little Weed, the floral friend of Bill and Ben (the flower pot men), was a daisy of some kind. In its more recent incarnations I gather the 'weed' is more clearly a Sunflower.

We are all familiar with large-flowered daisies, like Little Weed, but even the sunflower is still a still a herb, albeit a big one. Our gardens are full of marigolds, cornflowers, everlastings and variously adjectived asters and daisies. There are herby annuals and perennials, and plenty of small shrubs.

Coming into flower soon in Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens is one of the tallest and robust daisy plants in the world. Very few daisies are more than small shrubs, but at 4 m high the Daisy Tree or Tree Daisy (Montanoa grandiflora) from Mexico is a spectacular sight.

The Tree Daisy grows in the shadow of the Cahill Expressway, on the walk from the State Library gate down to the Pyramid. At the moment you can see the angular and segmented, trowel-shaped leaves on vigorous shoots. In a few weeks (I hope!), you'll see the typical fried-egg daisy flower, with yellow middle and white petals, and smell a sweet perfume.

The genus name Montanoa, by the way, commemorates an eighteenth century Mexican politician and amateur botanist, Luis Montana. Grandiflora? Well, this means big flowered. Compared with the sunflower its a misnomer, but presumably the flowers are big for a Montanoa!

If you miss the flowers, the seed heads are described in our database as 'decorative' and 'chartreuse' in colour. You might have to wait until mid-winter for these.

If you want to grow it yourself, the Tree Daisy is hardy in frost-free regions like coastal Sydney.