BELLIS (from belles, pretty), a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Composite', and to De Candolle's suborder Uorysibifer•er, tribe Astoroidere, subtribe Asterinem, division Asterem, and subdivision Beltidece. It has a receptacle without scales, flowers of the ray ligulate, pistilliferous in one row, those of the disk hermaphrodite tubular, the involucre composed of two rows of equal obtuse scales, the receptacle conical, the fruit compressed without pappus. De Candolle enumerates five species belonging to this genus. One of them, the B. perennis, is the Common Daisy, and is a native of Great Britain and throughout Europe. It has obovate-spathulate single ribbed crenate-dentate leaves. It is an exceedingly common plant on banks and in pastures in Europe. It blossoms nearly all the year round, and is constantly found with opened flowers from March to October. It is subject in its wild state to varieties; sometimes all the
florets are found ligulate, more rarely they are all tubular. There are several varieties of the Common Daisy cultivated in gardens. There is a double variety called Large-Double, another Double-Quilled, and a proliferoug variety known by the name of Hen-and-Chickens. These varieties assume various colours from deep red to pink and white. They are easily cultivated, and form pretty plants for edges and borders, and continue in blossom a long time.
B. sylvestris and B. annua are natives of Europe, but are not cultivated.
The genus Belliurn closely resembles Beltis ; it differs however in possessing a pappus surrounding its fruits. The species are found in the south of Europe, and appear like small species of Bellis.
(Babington, Manual ; Loudon, Cyclopmdia of Plants.)