| Gaillardia | |
|---|---|
| Gaillardia aristata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Subfamily: | Asteroideae |
| Tribe: | Helenieae |
| Genus: | Gaillardia Foug.[1] |
| Species | |
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See text. |
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| Synonyms | |
Gaillardia ( /ɡeɪˈlɑrdiə/),[2] the blanket flowers,[3] is a genus of drought-tolerant annual and perennial plants from the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to North and South America. It was named after M. Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was a patron of botany. The common name refers to the inflorescence's resemblance to brightly patterned blankets made by native Americans.
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These plants form wiry, branched stems with lanceolate to linear basal leaves. The plant grows to 11⁄2 to 2 ft (46 to 61 cm) tall, with bright, daisy-like single color and bicolor blooms in shades from buff to red to brown. The flowers bloom in the summer. There are more than two dozen known species of Gaillardia.
They will grow under very harsh and dry conditions, forming mounds 8–18 inches (20–46 cm) high, and will even bloom in sand along a seashore.
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).