Gallant Soldier

Galinsoga parviflora

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Asterales

Family:

Asteraceae (Daisy)

Also in this family:

Annual Sunflower, Autumn Hawkbit, Beaked Hawksbeard, Black Knapweed, Black-eyed Susan, Blanketflower, Blue Fleabane, Blue Globe-thistle, Bristly Oxtongue, Butterbur, Buttonweed, Canadian Fleabane, Canadian Goldenrod, Carline Thistle, Chalk Knapweed, Coltsfoot, Common Blue Sow-thistle, Common Cat's-ear, Common Daisy, Common Dandelion, Common Fleabane, Common Goldenrod, Common Groundsel, Common Michaelmas Daisy, Common Mugwort, Common Ragwort, Confused Michaelmas Daisy, Corn Marigold, Cornflower, Creeping Thistle, Dwarf Thistle, Early Goldenrod, Feverfew, Fox and Cubs, Garden Lettuce, Goat's Beard, Great Lettuce, Greater Burdock, Greater Knapweed, Grey-headed Hawkweed, Heath Groundsel, Hemp Agrimony, Hoary Ragwort, Lavender-cotton, Leopardsbane, Lesser Burdock, Lesser Hawkbit, Marsh Cudweed, Marsh Ragwort, Marsh Thistle, Melancholy Thistle, Mexican Fleabane, Mountain Everlasting, Mouse-ear Hawkweed, Musk Thistle, Narrow-leaved Ragwort, New England Hawkweed, Nipplewort, Oxeye Daisy, Oxford Ragwort, Perennial Cornflower, Perennial Sow-thistle, Pineapple Mayweed, Ploughman's Spikenard, Pot Marigold, Prickly Lettuce, Prickly Sow-thistle, Red-seeded Dandelion, Rough Hawkbit, Scented Mayweed, Scentless Mayweed, Sea Aster, Sea Mayweed, Seaside Daisy, Shaggy Soldier, Shasta Daisy, Shrub Ragwort, Silver Ragwort, Smooth Hawksbeard, Smooth Sow-thistle, Sneezeweed, Sneezewort, Spear Thistle, Spotted Cat's-ear, Sticky Groundsel, Tansy, Trifid Bur-marigold, Tyneside Leopardplant, Wall Lettuce, White Buttons, Winter Heliotrope, Wood Burdock, Yarrow

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Annual

Maximum Size:

80 centimetres tall

Habitats:

Farmland, towns, wasteland.

Flower:

White, 5 petals

The flowers have short, hairy stalks. The central flower disc is a golden yellow colour. The tiny, very widely spaced, white petals are notched and sometimes double notched. There are usually 5 petals but there can be anything between 4 and 8. Insect-pollinated. The leaf margins are shallowly toothed. Shaggy Soldier (Galinsoga quadriradiata) is an almost identical plant to Gallant Soldier but there are a few differences to be aware of that can help differentiate them. Shaggy Soldier is a hairier plant all over and has slightly longer petals.

Fruit:

A dry seed with 5 or more scales at the end. The edges of the scales are fringed.

Leaves:

An annual flower with opposite, stalked, simple, broad, pointed leaves, up to 7cm in length.

Other Names:

Galinsoga, Lesser Quickweed, Littleflower Quickweed, Potato Weed, Quickweed, Small-flowered Galinsoga, Soldiers of the Queen.

Frequency (UK):

Occasionally seen