Blackfoot Daisy | Melampodium Leucanthum

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Melampodium leucanthum, Common name plains blackfoot or blackfoot daisy is an herbaceous perennial plant in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) found on limestone-containing rocky slopes in the Sonoran Desert.  It is an attractive ornamental with showy flowers and long bloom period, from March to November.

It grows to about 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide. As long as it is placed in full sun it will continuously bloom the entire season with honey-scented, white and yellow daisy flowers. The foliage is typical of the aster family. Plant en masse in a well-drained border or use in a rock garden. Blackfoot daisy can be short-lived.

Rock Garden
Dahlberg daisy, Denver dream miniature rose, Blackfoot daisy

Rock Garden
Blackfoot daisy, Melampodium Leucanthum 

Etymology:  

The genus “Melampodium” may be derived from the Greek words “melas”, meaning black, and “podion”, meaning foot. Other authorities, however, maintain that this is in error, that the name comes from Melampus, a soothsayer of renown in Greek mythology.

The species epithet “leucanthum” (leucan'thum:) from Greek “leukos”, white and “anthemon” flower and thus white-flowered. genus “Melampodium” may be derived from the Greek words “melas”, meaning black, and “podion”, meaning foot. Other authorities, however, maintain that this is in error, that the name comes from Melampus, a soothsayer of renown in Greek mythology.

Habitat Preferences: Lower and upper deserts, open areas, dry rocky hillsides, chaparral, grasslands, slopes and mesas, prefers sandy and gravelly soil, often in limestone or caliche soils.

Category:
Alpines and Rock Gardens
Perennials

Height:
6-12 in. (15-30 cm)

Spacing:

IMPORTANT NOTE:
I would space them at least 2 feet apart. Small transplants quickly and eventually become large mounds. If they are too close together, they tend to develop a fungus and parts of the plants die. They obviously need air circulation.

Hardiness:
USDA Zone 4 - 9

Sun Exposure:
Full Sun

I grow it in full sun, on a slope with reflective heat, with little to no supplemental water. 

WATER: 

This is a lovely, low water, tough as nails plant.cannot recommend this plant enough for a xeriscape garden.

Design Characteristics, HOA and Asthetics; Form, Foliage, Bloom Time, Color, and Scent:
Late Winter/Early Spring
Mid Spring
Late Spring/Early Summer
Mid Summer

Form, Foliage:  It forms compact mounds in my garden and blooms with consistent, prolific, and steady flowers from March until the first freeze.   plant stays short and drapes nicely over raised beds. Even though the bloom is small they show off from a distance due to the density of the blooms. There is an explosive growth with the July heat and sunshine and it becomes covered in white, daisy like flowers which smell like honey with a hint of vanilla.

The leaves are silver/gray and nonconspicuous in design decisions but essential to heat tolerance.

I am trying a red, white, and blue themed area for the Hot summer months, including red salvia greggii, Blackfoot daisy, and a non-native Larkspur. Because my front yard has a decent slope and southern exposure I often experiment with new plants or replacements. Introducing natives  to my yard without the benefit of a formal curated plan can get dicey. 

Homeowners fall into various categories, for example; urban - must follow municipal codes; suburban - often regulated by HOA; and country - large acreage with limited access to supplemental water for new planting. My yard must follow HOA rules. This year, after the long freeze and the toll it has taken on the plants, I appreciated the abundant coverage of Oxalis dillenii, slender yellow woodsorrel, in the grassy portions of the yard. So far I have been able to add native plants without any complaints from the HOA. I hope to add more with each successful new native addition.

the way there is a state law (Senate Bill 198) that says that HOA cannot keep you from planting all the natives you want in your yard to conserve water, especially native grasses. and endangered or protected species. Check out the list of natives online (Federal and State Listed Plants of Texas). Plant species that are similar to the listed ones. I doubt that any HOA persons will know the difference between verbenas, sunflowers, phlox, etc. on the list and the ones that you probably would plant.

If you intend to convert your whole yard into native plants, it is best to submit a plan to the HOA in advance to get approval. Explain how it saves water. And maintain it so that it looks ‘kept’. there still may be resistance, but be persistent. Many HOAs are coming around to the idea of planting natives.

To keep down controversy and any complaints from your neighbors, it is best to make a border of rocks, or bricks, or landscape timbers.

Thank you. I will at your suggestions. My Salvia greggii is blooming now and I have included a photograph for the Red, white, and blue part of the article if you decide to include that. Even though the bluebonnets are not in the bed with the Blackfoot daisy and Salvia, including the bluebonnets would make that grouping all native. I need to find more bluebonnets at the nursery and add those to the RWB themed garden since they all are blooming now. 

Other details:
This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds
Drought-tolerant; suitable for xeriscaping. Tough little guys these are: growing in the poorest and thinnest layer of soil in my yard, thriving with almost a solid layer of limestone beneath them and happily overflowing the street curb onto the hot asphalt with hundreds of blooms even with the temperature at 100 degrees for days (108 for 2 days!). NO plant has survived in this area for very long in the past.

Bears abundant solitary 1" white daisy-like flowers with yellow centers borne on slender stalks. Forms a neat evergreen mound 6-12" tall and up to 16" wide. Native to the dry desert slopes, mesas, and high plains of the Southwest, where it has developed extreme tolerance to drought. Deep taproot is great for gathering moisture from the soil, but also makes it difficult to transplant once established. Great for rock gardens and erosion control. Doesn't need fertilizer. Cut back in fall.
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Self-sows freely; deadhead if you do not want volunteer seedlings next season
This plant is resistant to deer

Soil pH requirements:
6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)
7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline)
7.9 to 8.5 (alkaline)
8.6 to 9.0 (strongly alkaline)

Seed Collecting:

Unlike most others in the Daisy family the inner "disk" flowers are not fertile. Collect seed from the base of the outter ray flowers in the fall.
Allow seedheads to dry on plants; remove and collect seeds

Propagation Methods:
From seed; direct sow outdoors in fall
From seed; winter sow in vented containers, coldframe or unheated greenhouse
From seed; stratify if sowing indoors
From seed; sow indoors before last frost

Seeds germinate better if acid scarified. When the soil is warm, sow the seed. Cuttings from semi-soft stems root well and should be approaching woodiness. (See seedhead photo.)

Winter care: 

You do need to cut them back (maybe not every year) to get the dead branches out from underneath. They will sprawl out a lot -- 3 to 4' in my experience and are particularly attractive when they can cascade over a wall or tumble over the edge of a bed. They became a little ragged after the 19 degree temperatures this winter and an early spring freeze. I pruned them to about 5 inches and they rebounded like champs. There is one problem. The stems are fragile and break easily (like when dogs, cats and cows who have escaped from the field behind my subdivision tromp through them or I am attempting to remove persistent nut grass). I wish there was a rating higher than positive!  am curious about helping the blackfoot daisy survive. Mine survived the freeze, miracle of miracles. . Blackfoot daisy micro-environment (photograph  taken today, April 16, 2021). Survived the freeze! Reflective heat: tall stone in front, sidewalk, stones in bed, stone wall behind. There were leaves covering several plants in this bed. It has been trimmed back about 1-2 feet.

 microenvironment that allowed this. My article, I suspect is too long at this point but here is additional information from research. I have the perfect spot for it. It looks fragile but it takes full sun with reflective heat from stones. It does not receive water from the sprinkler system. It blooms from March through November and when we have 90 degree plus days and the sun is out the flower's perfume wafts with a heavenly honey scent. The flowers actually grow out and over the sidewalk. Don't ask me how it survives, it just does. If you put it in a pot don't water it much. I would ask the professionals at the nursery what type of soil is best.

an excellent plant for xeriscapes. Mine have been in the ground for over a year and take little care. They have bloomed from March to November. Requiring even less water than my other native Texas plants, I have to remember not to over water them. They need deep infrequent watering and do not like to be overhead watered. No insect pests attact them, no fertilizer is necessary and even though the flowers are small, they show up well in the foreground with dark foliaged lantana as the background planting.

Bees, sweat bees, fly bees, and butterflies feed on the nectar.

Natural Occuring Habitat and Ecoregion

Nauralist's Big Bend book by Wauer has them growing naturally in the foothills of the Chisos Mountains along with WHITE MILLWORT (Polygamy alba), and PLAINS FLEABANE (Erigeron modestus). The Campbell and Loughmiller, Texas Wildflower book says it grows, "Trans Pecos: abundant from Davis Mountains to Big Bend. Wasowski's, Native Texas Plants (p. 197, lists the soils as Sand, loam, clay, and limestone; well drained. 

Leucophyllum?

Guayacan (Guaiacum angustifolium). Gnarly shrubs found along arroyos in the desert. In the early spring the shrubs are covered with purple to blue flowers. In the fall, the bright red fruit are eyecatching.

Feather Dalea (Dalea formosa). A low, rounded shrub that is common along the Glenn Springs Road. It blooms from February through October in response to rainfall.

Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida). Verbena can be found in bloom nearly year-round. It grows thickly in recently disturbed areas.

Desert Lantana (Lantana achyranthifolia)

Havard Nama (Nama havardii). Nama havardii is one of the less common members of this genus, found only in four counties of west Texas (Presidio, Brewster, Terrell, Val Verde); Big Bend National Park is the main location. Plants are small perennials, found in open, gravelly sites, often alongside washes. Leaves are relatively wide, broader above the middle, and both surfaces are evenly covered with short, soft hairs. Leaf edges are sometimes folded downwards slightly, along the axis. Leaves grow all along the stems, and subtend the terminal flower clusters. Leaf margins are entire. Stems are erect, branching from the base and higher up.

Flowers have a five-lobed calyx, the lobes linear in shape, and fused only at the base, enclosing the white corolla tube, which opens to five rounded, pink (occasionally white) lobes. The inside of the corolla tube is marked by thin, dark veins. The five yellow-tipped stamens do not project beyond the end of the tube.

Bibliography for Texas Wildflowers

1. Ajilvsgi, Geyata. Wildflowers of Texas. Fredericksburg, Tex: Shearer Pub, 2003. Print.
2. Beautiful, Tough, and Texan: Let Your Landscape Shine with Texas Superstars. Austin, TX: Texas Dept. of Agriculture, 2000. 
3. Curry, Mary, and Claire Curry. North Central Texas Wildflowers: Field Guide. , 2015. Print.
4. Gibler, Susan. Texas Wildflower Postcard Collection. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, 1989. Print.
5. Greebon, Rob, and Richard Reynolds. Texas Wildflowers Impressions. , 2017. Print.
6. Grimmer, Glenna, and Mary J. Laughlin. The Abc's of Texas Wildflowers. Burnet, Tex: Eakin Press, 1982. Juvenile audience; Print.
7. Johnston, Eliza G, Luci B. J. Nugent, and Mildred P. Mayhall. Texas Wild Flowers. Atglen, Pa: Schiffer Publishing, 2011. 
8. Magley, Beverly, and D D. Dowden. Texas Wildflowers: A Children's Field Guide to the State's Most Common Flowers. Billings, Mont: Falcon Press, 1993. Print.
9. Mattiza, Dorothy B. 100 Texas Wildflowers. Tucson, Ariz: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1993. Print.
10. Miller, George O. Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas. St. Paul, MN: Voyageur Press, 2006. Print.
11. Miller, George O. Wildflowers of Texas. , 2018. Print.
12. Nokes, Jill. How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001. Print
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14. Rickett, Harold W, William C. Steere, and Donovan S. Correll. Wild Flowers of the United States: Volume Three. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969. Print.
15. Reid, Jan, Leo Meier, and Geyata Ajilvsgi. Texas Wildflowers. San Francisco: Fog City Press, 2004. Print.
16. Reynolds, Richard. Texas Wildflowers. Helena, Mont: Farcountry Press, 1996. Print.
17. Timm, Jill. Texas Colors. Wenatchee, Wash.: Mystical Places Press, 2003. Minature Art; Print.
18. Tull, Delena, George O. Miller, and Delena Tull. Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of Texas. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Pub
19. Tveten, John L, and Gloria A. Tveten. Wild Flowers of Houston. Houston, Tex: Rice University Press, 1993. Print
20. Wasowski, Sally, and Julie Ryan. Landscaping with Native Texas Plants. Austin, Tex: Texas Monthly Press, 1985. Print.
21. Wasowski, Sally, and Andy Wasowski. Native Texas Plants. Houston, TX: Gulf Pub. Co, 1991. Print.
22. Wasowski, Sally, and Andy Wasowski. Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region. Lanham: Taylor Trade Publishing, 
23. Wild Flowers: A Portfolio of Frameable Prints. College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 1985. Print.

Family |  Asteraceae