Portuguese Daisy: What You Need to Know About This Uncommon Perennial
If you’ve stumbled across the name Portuguese daisy in your gardening research, you might be wondering what exactly this plant is and whether it belongs in your garden. The Portuguese daisy, scientifically known as Leucanthemum lacustre, is one of those plants that seems to fly under the radar in most gardening circles—and there’s a good reason for that.
The Basics: What Is Portuguese Daisy?
Portuguese daisy is a perennial forb, which simply means it’s a non-woody herbaceous plant that comes back year after year. Like other members of the daisy family, it likely produces the classic white-petaled, yellow-centered flowers we associate with daisies, though detailed descriptions of this particular species are surprisingly hard to come by.
You might also see this plant listed under its old scientific name, Chrysanthemum lacustre, though botanists have since moved it into the Leucanthemum genus where it currently resides.
Native Status and Geographic Distribution
Here’s where things get interesting—and a bit concerning from a native gardening perspective. Portuguese daisy is not native to North America. It’s an introduced species that has managed to establish itself and reproduce in the wild without human assistance. Currently, it’s been documented in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wyoming—quite a scattered distribution that raises questions about how it got to these diverse locations.
Should You Plant Portuguese Daisy?
This is where we need to have an honest conversation. While Portuguese daisy isn’t currently listed as invasive or noxious (that we know of), its status as a non-native species that’s already naturalizing in multiple states should give us pause. The fact that there’s so little readily available information about this plant—including its growing requirements, ecological impacts, and garden performance—makes it a bit of a wild card.
Instead of taking a chance on an unknown quantity, consider these native alternatives that offer similar daisy-like flowers:
- Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) – though technically a hybrid, it’s widely cultivated and well-behaved
- Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) – native with daisy-adjacent flowers
- Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) – classic daisy form with known wildlife benefits
- New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) – fall-blooming native daisy
Growing Information: What We Know (And Don’t Know)
Here’s where Portuguese daisy becomes truly mysterious. Despite being documented in four different states, there’s remarkably little information available about its specific growing requirements, mature size, hardiness zones, or care needs. This lack of horticultural information suggests it’s not commonly grown in gardens, which raises the question of whether it’s worth pursuing when so many well-documented native options exist.
What we do know is limited:
- It’s a perennial that should return year after year
- As a forb, it has soft, non-woody stems
- It’s capable of surviving in diverse climates (given its range from the Southeast to Wyoming)
Wildlife and Pollinator Considerations
One of the biggest unknowns with Portuguese daisy is its relationship with local wildlife and pollinators. While daisy-type flowers are generally attractive to various insects, we don’t have specific information about which pollinators visit this species or whether it provides meaningful benefits to local ecosystems. Native plants have co-evolved with local wildlife over thousands of years, creating intricate relationships that non-native plants simply can’t replicate.
The Bottom Line
Portuguese daisy falls into that tricky category of plants that aren’t definitively bad but aren’t necessarily good choices either. Given the limited information available and the abundance of well-researched native alternatives, most gardeners would be better served by choosing plants with known benefits to local ecosystems.
If you’re set on exploring less common daisies, consider seeking out native species in your region or well-documented non-natives with proven garden performance. Your local native plant society or extension office can provide recommendations for daisy-type flowers that will thrive in your specific area while supporting local wildlife.
Remember, every plant we choose for our gardens is a vote for the kind of landscape we want to create. Why not cast that vote for plants that we know will contribute positively to local ecosystems?
