Leucanthemum maximum
# Leucanthemum maximum

Leucanthemum maximum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name max chrysanthemum.

## Range

It is native to France and Spain but it can be found growing wild in other parts of the world as an introduced species and sometimes a garden escapee.

## Description

It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing 30 to 70 centimeters tall with many large serrated leaves around the base of the stem on winged petioles. There are smaller lance-shaped leaves alternately arranged along the stem. The inflorescence is generally a large, solitary flower head which may exceed 8 centimeters in diameter. It has a fringe of 20 to 30 white ray florets around a center of many densely packed yellow disc florets. The fruit is a small ribbed achene without a pappus.

## Taxonomy

This species is one of the wild chrysanthemums Luther Burbank crossed to produce the popular garden hybrid known as the Shasta daisy, Leucanthemum × superbum.

