Gaillardia

Gaillardia /ɡeɪˈlɑːrdiə/[3] (common name blanket flower)[4] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to North and South America. It was named after Maître Gaillard de Charentonneau,[5][6] an 18th-century French magistrate who was an enthusiastic botanist. The common name may refer to the resemblance of the inflorescence to the brightly patterned blankets made by Native Americans, or to the ability of wild taxa to blanket the ground with colonies.[7] Many cultivars have been bred for ornamental use.

For the fictional British island colony, see Carlton-Browne of the F.O.

Gaillardia
Gaillardia pulchella
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Helenieae
Subtribe: Gaillardiinae
Genus: Gaillardia
Foug.[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Guentheria Spreng.
  • Galordia Raeusch.
  • Polypteris Less.
  • Calonnea Buc'hoz
  • Cercostylos Less.
  • Othake Raf.
  • Agassizia A.Gray & Engelm.

Description
Cultivated Gaillardia in Gahkuch, Pakistan.

These are annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs, sometimes with rhizomes. The stem is usually branching and erect to a maximum height around 80 centimeters (31.5 inches). The leaves are alternately arranged. Some taxa have only basal leaves. They vary in shape. They are glandular in most species. The inflorescence is a solitary flower head. The head can have 15 or more ray florets, while some taxa lack any ray florets. They can be almost any shade of yellow, orange, red, purplish, brown, white, or bicolored. They are sometimes rolled into a funnel shape. There are many tubular disc florets at the center of the head in a similar range of colors, and usually tipped with hairs. The fruit usually has a pappus of scales.[8]

Ecology

Gaillardia species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, including Schinia bina (which has been recorded on G. pulchella), Schinia masoni (which feeds exclusively on G. aristata) and Schinia volupia (which feeds exclusively on G. pulchella).

red dome blanketflower (Gaillardia pinnatifida)
Gaillardia 'Fanfare'

Symbolism

It is the official flower of Wallonia.
The school colors of Texas State University are maroon and old gold, a combination inspired by the gaillardia.[9]

Species

Species include:[4][10]

Hybrids

Formerly placed here
  • lanceleaf blanketflower (Gaillardia aestivalis)
    lanceleaf blanketflower (Gaillardia aestivalis)
  • firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella)
    firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella)
  • Gaillardia × hybrida 'Kobold'
    Gaillardia × hybrida 'Kobold'
  • Gaillardia × grandiflora 'Oranges and Lemons'
    Gaillardia × grandiflora 'Oranges and Lemons'

References
  1. "Genus: Gaillardia Foug". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 1998-09-22. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  2. "Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist". Archived from the original on 2014-11-30. Retrieved 2014-11-27.
  3. Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. 606–07.
  4. "Gaillardia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  5. Fougeroux de Bondaroy, Auguste Denis. Observations sur la Physique, sur L'Histoire Naturelle et sur les Arts. 29: 55. 1786.
  6. Fougeroux de Bondaroy, Auguste Denis. Memoires de l'Academie Royale des Sciences Paris 1786: 5. 1788.
  7. Gaillardia × grandiflora. Missouri Botanical Garden.
  8. Gaillardia. Flora of North America.
  9. School Colors. Texas State University–San Marcos.
  10. "GRIN Species Records of Gaillardia". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-02-10.

Further reading
  • Media related to Gaillardia at Wikimedia Commons
  • Biddulph, S. F. (1944). "A revision of the genus Gaillardia". Res. Stud. State Coll. Wash. 13: 195–256.
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