Blackfoot Daisy
Melampodium leucanthum
Blackfoot Daisy - common name
Melampodium leucanthum - fancy name
These graphics of Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) were taken at various locations in the Palo Duro Canyon State Park, between March and April. The Blackfoot Daisy is a pretty common flower and can be found on almost all of the trails and campsites in the Canyon. It is easy to confuse the Blackfoot Daisy with two other flowers commonly found in the park, the Fleabane Daisy and the White Aster. An easy way to tell the difference is that the Blackfoot has 8 white petals, the Fleabane and Aster have many more.
Other common names include: Desert Daisy, Rock Daisy, and Plains Black-Foot.
In looking at the graphics above and below, notice how variable the petals may be from plant to pant, some are close together and over lap and some are spaced wider apart. Look at the center yellow area; it looks like separate individual miniature yellow flowers along the edges.
