''Gaillardia'' (common name blanket flower) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

, native to

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. It was named after Maître Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was an enthusiastic

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. The common name may refer to the resemblance of the

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

to the brightly patterned blankets made by Native Americans, or to the ability of wild taxa to blanket the ground with colonies. Many

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s have been bred for

ornamental Ornamental may refer to: *Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration *Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work *Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qua ...

use.

Description

These are annual or

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbs or

subshrubs A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Der ...

, sometimes with

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. 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

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.''Gaillardia''.
Flora of North America.

Ecology

''Gaillardia'' species are used as food plants by the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species, including ''

Schinia bina ''Schinia bina'', the bina flower moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found from Mexico City to central Florida, and as far north as Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada.

'' (which has been recorded on ''G. pulchella''), ''

Schinia masoni The blanket flower moth (''Schinia masoni'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America, including Colorado and Wyoming. The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingt ...

'' (which feeds exclusively on ''G. aristata'') and ''

Schinia volupia The painted schinia moth (''Schinia volupia'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America, including Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The wingspan is 20–22 mm. The larvae feed o ...

'' (which feeds exclusively on ''G. pulchella''). Gaillardia fanfare centered

Symbolism

It is the official flower of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

.
The

school colors School colors (also known as university colors or college colors) are the colors chosen by a school as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms of sports teams. They can promote connectio ...

of Texas State University are

maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

and old gold, a combination inspired by the gaillardia.School Colors.
Texas State University–San Marcos.

Species

Species include: * '' Gaillardia aestivalis'' (Walter) H.Rock – lanceleaf blanketflower southeastern USA * ''

Gaillardia amblyodon ''Gaillardia amblyodon'', the maroon blanketflower, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family. It has been found only in the state of Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of ...

'' J.Gay – maroon blanketflower - Texas * ''

Gaillardia aristata ''Gaillardia aristata'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, known by the common names common blanketflower and common gaillardia. This perennial wildflower is widespread across much of North America, from Yuko ...

'' Pursh – common gaillardia - Canada, northern + western USA * ''

Gaillardia arizonica ''Gaillardia arizonica'', the Arizonia blanketflower, is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is native to northwestern Mexico ( Sonora) and the southwestern United States (Arizona, southern Nevada, southern Utah Uta ...

'' A.Gray – Arizona blanketflower - Sonora, southwestern USA * '' Gaillardia cabrerae'' ( Lihue Calel, Argentina) * ''

Gaillardia coahuilensis ''Gaillardia coahuilensis'', the bandanna daisy, is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is native to northwestern Mexico ( Coahuila) and the southwestern United States (western Texas). ''Gaillardia coahuilens ...

'' B.L.Turner – bandanna daisy - Coahuila, Texas * ''

Gaillardia comosa ''Gaillardia'' (common name blanket flower) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to North and South America. It was named after Maître Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was an enthusias ...

'' A.Gray - northern Mexico * '' Gaillardia doniana'' (Hook. & Arn.) Griseb. - Argentina * '' Gaillardia gypsophila'' B.L.Turner - Coahuila * '' Gaillardia henricksonii'' B.L.Turner - Coahuila * '' Gaillardia megapotamica'' (Spreng.) Baker - Argentina – ''boton de oro'' ** ''Gaillardia megapotamica'' var. ''radiata'' ( San Luis, Argentina) ** ''Gaillardia megapotamica'' var. ''scabiosoides'' * '' Gaillardia mexicana'' A.Gray - northeastern Mexico * '' Gaillardia multiceps'' Greene – onion blanketflower - Arizona, Texas, New Mexico * '' Gaillardia parryi'' Greene – Parry's blanketflower - Utah, Arizona * '' Gaillardia pinnatifida'' Torr. – red dome blanketflower - northern Mexico, western USA * '' Gaillardia powellii'' B.L.Turner - Coahuila * '' Gaillardia pulchella'' Foug. – firewheel - southern + central USA, central Canada, northern Mexico * '' Gaillardia serotina'' (Walter) H. Rock - southeastern USA * '' Gaillardia spathulata'' A.Gray – western blanketflower - Utah, Colorado * '' Gaillardia suavis'' (A.Gray & Engelm.) Britton & Rusby – perfumeballs - northeastern Mexico, south-central USA * '' Gaillardia tontalensis'' (

San Juan Province, Argentina San Juan Province () is a province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja, San Luis and Mendoza. It borders with Chile to the west. The province has an a ...

) * '' Gaillardia turneri'' Averett & A.M.Powell - Chihuahua

Hybrids

* ''Gaillardia'' × ''grandiflora'' hort. ex Van Houtte 'G. aristata'' × ''G. pulchella''ref name="GRINSpecies"/>

Formerly placed here

* ''Helenium amarum'' (Raf.) H.Rock var. ''amarum'' (as ''G. amara'' Raf.) * ''Tetraneuris acaulis'' (Pursh) Greene var. ''acaulis'' (as ''G. acaulis'' Pursh)

Gallery

File:Gaillardia-aestivalis01.jpg, lanceleaf blanketflower (''Gaillardia aestivalis'') File:Gaillardia-pulchella01.jpg, firewheel (''Gaillardia pulchella'') File:Gaillardia x hybrida Kobold.JPG, ''Gaillardia'' × ''hybrida'' 'Kobold' File:Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Oranges and Lemons' in NH.jpg, ''Gaillardia'' × ''grandiflora'' 'Oranges and Lemons' File:Yellow Gaillardia Flower.jpg File:Blanket Flower (Yellow).jpg