''Gerbera'' ( or ) L. 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 ...

of plants in the

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 ...

(Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a ''Gerbera'' was made by J. D. Hooker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1889 when he described ''

Gerbera jamesonii ''Gerbera jamesonii'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Gerbera'' belonging to the basal Mutisieae tribe within the large Asteraceae (or Compositae) family. It is indigenous to South Eastern Africa and commonly known as the Barberton ...

'', a South African species also known as ''Transvaal daisy'' or ''Barberton daisy''. Gerbera is also commonly known as the ''African daisy''.

Etymology

The genus was named in honour of German botanist and medical doctor Traugott Gerber (1710 — 1743) who travelled extensively in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and was a friend of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

Description

''Gerbera'' species are tufted,

caulescent This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

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, often with woolly crown, up to 80 cm high. Leaves are all in rosette, elliptical with entire or toothed margin or lobed
petiolate
or with a petaloid base, pinnately veined, often leathery and felted beneath. Single to several flowering stems from each rosette bear bracteate or ebracteate, simple, one-headed inflorescence-

capitulum capitulum (plural capitula) may refer to: *the Latin word for chapter ** an index or list of chapters at the head of a gospel manuscript ** a short reading in the Liturgy of the Hours *** derived from which, it is the Latin for the assembly known ...

. Capitula are radiate, with several rows of bracts. Ray

florets This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

are female, 2-lipped, the outer lip is large and strap-shaped, inner lip consists of two small, thread-like lobes of white, pink or red, rarely yellow colour. Disc florets are fertile, five-lobed and irregularly 2-lipped with curled petals.

Species

Formerly included numerous species once considered members of ''Gerbera'' are now regarded as more suited to other genera: ''

Chaptalia ''Chaptalia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. ''Chaptalia'' is native primarily to Mesoamerica, South America, and the West Indies, with a few species in the United States. ; Species * '' Chaptalia albicans'' (Sw.) Ven ...

'', ''

Leibnitzia ''Leibnitzia'' (sunbonnets) is a genus of Asian and North American flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus is named for Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716), German scientist and mathematician ; Species Mairia ''Mairia'' is a genus of perennial herbaceous plants assigned to the family Asteraceae. All species have leathery, entire or toothed leaves in rosettes, directly from the underground rootstock, and one or few flower heads sit at the top of the s ...

'', ''

Perdicium ''Perdicium'' is a genus of African plants in the tribe Mutisieae within the family Asteraceae. ; Species Trichocline ''Trichocline'' is a genus of Australian and South American plants in the tribe Mutisieae within the family Asteraceae. It consists of one species from Australia ''(T. spathulata)'' and twenty-three from South America. Its closest relatives are ...

'', and ''

Oreoseris ''Oreoseris'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Anatolia, Central Asia, the Himalaya region, and Thailand. Originally described in 1838, it was resurrected with the Asian species of ''Gerbera'' and all the species ...

''. In accordance with

International Plant Names Index The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It inclu ...

genus ''Gerbera'' includes 22 accepted species:

Section ''Gerbera''

* ''

Gerbera crocea ''Gerbera'' ( or ) L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a ''Gerbera'' was made by J. D. Hooker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1889 when he described ''Gerbera jamesonii'', a South ...

Kuntze Kuntze is a surname of German origin. People with that name include: * Carl Kuntze (1922-2006), Dutch rower who competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics * Edward J. Kuntze (1826-1870), Prussian-born American sculptor * Otto Kuntze (1843-1907), German ...

— Dialstee * ''

Gerbera grandis ''Gerbera'' ( or ) L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a ''Gerbera'' was made by J. D. Hooker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1889 when he described ''Gerbera jamesonii'', a South ...

'' J.C.Manning & Simka * ''

Gerbera linnaei ''Gerbera'' ( or ) L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a ''Gerbera'' was made by J. D. Hooker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1889 when he described ''Gerbera jamesonii'', a South ...

'' Cass. — Varingblom * ''

Gerbera ovata ''Gerbera'' ( or ) L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a ''Gerbera'' was made by J. D. Hooker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1889 when he described ''Gerbera jamesonii'', a South ...

'' J.C.Manning & Simka * '' Gerbera serrata'' Druce * '' Gerbera tomentosa''

DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

* '' Gerbera wrightii'' Harv.

Section ''Lasiopus'' (Cass.) Sch.Bip.

* '' Gerbera ambigua'' Sch.Bip. * '' Gerbera aurantiaca'' Sch.Bip. — Hilton daisy * '' Gerbera galpinii'' Klatt — Galpin's gerbera * ''

Bolus Bolus may refer to: Geography * Bolus, Iran, a village in Ardabil Province, Iran * Bolus, or Baulus, an Anatolian village on the site of ancient Berissa Medicine * Bolus (digestion), a ball-shaped mass moving through the digestive tract * Bolus ...

— Barberton daisy, Gerbera daisy, Transvaal daisy * '' Gerbera sylvicola''

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, N.R.Crouch & T.J.Edwards * ''

Gerbera viridifolia ''Gerbera'' ( or ) L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family. The first scientific description of a ''Gerbera'' was made by J. D. Hooker in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1889 when he described ''Gerbera jamesonii'', a South ...

'' (DC.) Sch.Bip. — Pink gerbera

Section ''Pseudoseris'' (Baill.) Jeffr.

* '' Gerbera bojeri'' Sch.Bip. — Bojer's gerbera * '' Gerbera diversifolia''

Humbert Humbert, Umbert or Humberto (Latinized ''Humbertus'') is a Germanic given name, from ''hun'' "warrior" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also came into use as a surname. Given name ;Royalty and Middle Ages * Emebert (died 710) * Humbert of Maroilles ...

* '' Gerbera elliptica'' Humbert * '' Gerbera emirnensis''

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

* '' Gerbera hypochaeridoides'' Baker * '' Gerbera leandrii'' Humbert * '' Gerbera perrieri'' Humbert * '' Gerbera petasitifolia'' Humbert

Section ''Parva'' H.V.Hansen

* '' Gerbera parva''

N.E.Br. Nicholas Edward Brown (11 July 1849 in Redhill, Surrey – 25 November 1934 in Kew Gardens, London) was an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents. He was also an authority on several families of plants, including Asclepiadacea ...

File:Gerbera viridifolia 1DS-II 3-0777.jpg, ''Gerbera viridifolia'' File:Gerbera jamesonii (Asteraceae).jpg, ''

'' File:Gerbera ambigua.jpg, '' Gerbera ambigua'' File:Hilton Daisy.jpg, '' Gerbera aurantiaca'' File:Gerbera wrightii 1DS-II 2-4140.jpg, ''Gerbera wrightii'' File:Gerbera × hybrida 01.JPG, ''Gerbera'' × ''hybrida'' File:Orange Gerbera growing in a pot in Calcutta.jpg, ''Gerbera'' × ''hybrida'' File:Gerbera daisy orange002.jpg, ''Gerbera'' × ''hybrida''

Distribution

''Gerbera'' is native to tropical regions of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It was introduced into countries of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

Uses

''Gerbera'' is very popular and widely used as a decorative garden plant or as cut flowers. The domesticated cultivars are mostly a result of a cross between ''

'' and another

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n species ''

''. The cross is known as ''Gerbera × hybrida''. Thousands of

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 exist. They vary greatly in shape and size. Colours include white, yellow, orange, red, and pink. The centre of the flower is sometimes black. Often the same flower can have

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s of several different colours. The flower-heads (capitula) can be as small as 7 cm (Gerbera 'mini Harley') in diameter or up to 12 cm (Gerbera ‘Golden Serena’). ''Gerbera'' is also important commercially. It is the fifth most used cut flower in the world (after

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

, carnation,

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...

, and tulip). It is also used as a

model organism A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...

in studying flower formation. ''Gerbera'' contains naturally occurring coumarin derivatives. It is attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds, but resistant to deer. Small ones are called gerbrinis.

References

Sources

* Hansen, Hans V. A taxonomic revision of the genus ''Gerbera'' (Compositae, Mutisieae) sections ''Gerbera'', ''Parva'', ''Piloselloides'' (in Africa), and ''Lasiopus'' (Opera botanica. No. 78; 1985), . * Nesom, G .L. 2004. Response to "The ''Gerbera'' complex (Asteraceae, Mutisieae): to split or not to split" by Liliana Katinas. ''Sida'' 21:941–942. * Bremer K. 1994: ''Asteraceae: cladistics and classification''. Timber Press: Portland, Oregon.

External links

Gerbera.org
��official website of the Gerbera Association—established in Barberton, South Africa

Germany (German) {{Taxonbar, from=Q310654 Asteraceae genera Garden plants Mutisieae