Aster bellis E.H.L. Krause, Bellis alpina Hegetschw., Bellis armena Boiss., Bellis croatica Gand., Bellis hortensis Mill., Bellis hybrida Ten., Bellis integrifolia DC., Bellis margaritifolia Huter, Bellis minor Garsault (inval.), Bellis perennis var. caulescens Rochebr., Bellis perennis f. discoidea D.C. McClint., Bellis perennis var. fagetorum Lac., Bellis perennis var. hybrida (Ten.) Fiori, Bellis perennis subsp. hybrida (Ten.) Nyman, Bellis perennis var. margaritifolia (Huter) Fiori, Bellis perennis var. microcephala Boiss., Bellis perennis f. plena Sacc., Bellis perennis f. pumila (Arv.-Touv. & Dupuy) Rouy, Bellis perennis var. pusilla N. Terracc., Bellis perennis f. rhodoglossa Sacc., Bellis perennis var. strobliana Bég., Bellis perennis var. subcaulescens Martrin-Donos, Bellis perennis var. tubulosa F.J. Schultz, Bellis perennis f. tubulosa A. Kern., Bellis pumila Arv.-Touv. & Dupuy, Bellis pusilla (N. Terracc.) Pignatti, Bellis scaposa Gilib. [Invalid], Bellis validula Gand. Erigeron perennis (L.) Sessé & Moc.

Asteraceae

Bairnwort, Bainswort, Banewort, Banwood, Billy Button, Bruisewort, Child’s Flower Common Daisy, Daisy, Day’s Eye, English Daisy, European Daisy, Ewe-Gowan, Field Daisy Flower of Spring, Gowan, Herb Margaret, Lawn Daisy, Little Star, Maudlinwort, Measure of Love, Moon Daisy, Open Eye, Perennial Daisy, Silver Pennies, Woundwort

The species is native to western, central and northern Europe and middle Asia. It has been introduced to North America and New Zealand. The species is widely naturalized in North America.

B. perennis is a cool climate perennial herbaceous plant grown as a biennial or annual. The plant is found wild in meadows and uncultivated pastures in its native range. It prefers full sun to light shade and organically rich, fertile, consistently moist and well-drained soils. It flowers in spring and declines with summer heat where it is often removed. The plant is intolerant of drought.

The leaves and flowers are used as vegetables (Yoshikawa et al. 2008). Flower buds and petals have a mildly bitter taste and can be eaten raw, in salads, sandwiches, soups or as garnish or in tea (Cribb and Cribb 1982; Facciola 1990). Young leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as potherbs (Hedrick 1972; Larkcom 1980; Chiej 1984; Facciola 1990; Bown 1995).

An herbaceous perennial or annual plant, 10–25 cm high with creeping rhizomes and sparsely strigose scape. Leaves basal and rosulate with long winged petioles; lamina spatulate, 2–6 cm by 1–2.8 cm, with serrated to crenate margins, attenuated base and apex obtuse, sometimes retuse, mucronulate (Plate 1). Capitula terminal, solitary, 2–3 cm across (Plates 1, 2, 3 and 4). Involucre hemispheric or broadly campanulate, 5–6 mm; phyllaries 2-seriate, subequal, oblanceolate, leaflike, surfaces pubescent, margin sparsely ciliate, midvein thin, translucent, apex obtuse, scarious, ciliate. Ray florets white or pinkish or in various shades of red, purple, pink (Plates 1, 2, 3 and 4), lamina about 10 × 1 mm; disk florets yellow, 2 mm, limb campanulate, about 1.5 mm, sparsely pubescent proximally, lobes erect, triangular, eglandular. Cypselae strigillose 1–2 mm. Pappus absent.

Bellis perennis L.

The major anthocyanin of red flowers of Bellis perennis was identified as cyanidin 3-O-(6-O-matonyl-4-O-(β-d-glucuronyl)-β-d-glucopyranoside) (Saito et al. 1988). The malonylanthocyanin was more stable in neutral solution than cyanidin 3-glucoside but less stable than cyanidin 3-glucuronylglucoside. The anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-O-(4″-O-(malonyl)-2″O-(β-d-glucuronyl)-β-d-glucopyranoside) and cyanidin 3-O-(2″-O-(β-d-glucuronyl)-β-d-glucopyranoside) were isolated from the red flowers of Bellis perennis cv. ‘Super Siberius Crimson’ (Toki et al. 1991). A known malonylated cyanidin 3-glucuronylglucoside was also obtained as a major pigment, and its structure was revised to the cyanidin 3-O-(6″-O-(malonyl)-2″-O-(β-d-glucuronyl)-β-d-glucopyranoside). Seven acylated triterpene saponins, perennisosides I–VII, were isolated together with four known saponins, bellidioside A, asterbatanoside D, bernardioside B 2 and bellissaponin BS6 and were isolated from B. perennis flowers (Morikawa et al. 2008). The structure of perennisoside I was determined as 23-O-acetylbayogenin28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-lucopyranoside; the structure of perennisoside II was elucidated as 23-O-acetylbayogenin 28-O-R-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)[β-d-galactopyranosyl (1 → 3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranoside; the structure of perennisoside III was established as 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside of bayogenin 28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1-3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranoside; perennisoside IV was elucidated as 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside of bayogenin 28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)[β-d-galactopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranoside; perennisoside V was assigned as 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside of 23-O-acetylbayogenin 28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1-2)[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1-3)]-β-d-glucopyranoside; the structure of perennisoside VI was determined as 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside of 23-O-acetylbayogenin 28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)[β-d-galactopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-β-d-glucopyranoside and the structure of perennisoside VII was elucidated as 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside of 23-O-acetylbayogenin 28-O-R-l-rhamnopyranosyl (1 → 2)[β-d-galactopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranoside. Five new oleanane-type triterpene saponins named perennisosides VIII–XII were isolated from the flowers (Morikawa et al. 2011). Perennisoside VIII was determined to be 3-O-β-d-fucopyranosyl-23-O-acetylbayogenin {28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranosyl} ester; perennisoside IX was determined to be 3-O-β-d-fucopyranosyl-23-O-acetylbayogenin {28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)-[β-d-galactopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranosyl} ester; perennisoside X was determined to be 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-23-O-acetylbayogenin {28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)-[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranosyl} ester; perennisoside XI was 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-23-O-acetylbayogenin {28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)-[β-d-galactopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-6-O-acetyl-β-d-glucopyranosyl} ester and perennisoside XII was elucidated as bayogenin {28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-[β-d-galactopyranosyl (1 → 3)]-[β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)]-β-d-glucopyranosyl} ester. Deacylation of perennisosides VIII, IX, X and XI afforded desacyl-perennisoside VIII, desacyl-perennisoside IX, desacyl-perennisoside X and desacyl-perennisoside XI.

Six acylated oleanane-type triterpene oligoglycosides, perennisaponins A, B, C, D, E and F, were isolated from the flowers together with 14 saponins, nine flavonoids and two glycosides (Yoshikawa et al. 2008). Seven new acylated oleanane-type triterpene bisdesmosides designated perennisaponins G, H, I, J, K, L and M and were isolated from the flowers (Morikawa et al. 2010). Several triterpene saponins (Glensk et al. 2001) and five new triterpene saponins perennisosides VIII, IX, X, XI and XII were isolated from Bellis perennis flowers (Morikawa et al. 2011).

Bellis perennis flowers were found to contain the following flavonoid compounds: quercetin, apigenin, apigenin 7-O-β-d-glucuronide, apigenin 7-O-β-d-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-β-d-methylglucuronide, apigenin 7-O-β-d-(6″-E-caffeoyl)-glucoside, isorhamnetin, isorhamnetin 3-O-β-d-galactoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-β-d-(6″-acetyl)-galactopyranoside, kaempferol, kaempferol 3-O-B-d-glucoside and kaempferol 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (Gudej and Nazaruk 1997; Nazaruk and Gudej 2000; Gudej and Nazaruk 2001; Nazaruk and Gudej 2001). Similar flavonoids were found in cultivated and wild daisy flowers, while differences were noted in the flavonoid composition of the leaves (Nazaruk and Gudej 2001). The flavonoid contents were higher in the flowers than in the leaves. In cultivated and wild daisy flowers, apigenin, apigenin 7-O-β-d-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-β-d-glucuronide, apigenin 7-O-β-d-methylglucuronide, kaempferol, kaempferol 3-O-B-d-glucoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-β-d-galactoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-β-d(6″-acetyl)-galactoside and quercetin were detected. In the flowers of wild growing daisy, apigenin 7-O-β-d-(6″-E-caffeoyl)-glucoside was detected. In the leaves apigenin, apigenin 7-O-β-d-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-β-d-glucuronide, kaempferol, kaempferol 3-O-β-d-glucoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-β-d-galactoside and quercetin were found. Caffeic acid and seven of its derivatives were isolated from leaves of Bellis perennis (Scognamiglio et al. 2012). A novel glucuronosyltransferase, BpUGAT, involved in the biosynthesis of flower pigments in the red daisy (Bellis perennis) was purified (Sawada et al. 2005). BpUGAT was a soluble monomeric enzyme with a molecular mass of 54 kDa and catalyzed the regiospecific transfer of a glucuronosyl unit from UDP-glucuronate to the 2″-hydroxyl group of the 3-glucosyl moiety of cyanidin 3-O-6″-O-malonylglucoside. It was highly specific for cyanidin 3-O-glucosides cyanidin 3-O-6″-O-malonylglucoside and UDP-glucuronate.