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

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

, 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 considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. The common name may refer to the resemblance of the

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

to the brightly patterned

blanket A blanket is a swath of soft textile, cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through Thermal conduction, condu ...

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

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been bred for ornamental use.

Description

These are annual or

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbs or

subshrubs A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or undershrub is either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody plant, woody at the base (e.g. garden pink and florist's chrysanthemum). The term is ofte ...

, sometimes with

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

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 ...

s of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

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''). Gaillardia fanfare centered

Symbolism

It is the official flower of

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

.
The

school colors School colors, also known as university colors or college colors, are the colors chosen by a school, academy, college, university or institute as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms ...

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

are

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

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'' J.Gay – maroon blanketflower - Texas * '' Gaillardia aristata'' Pursh – common gaillardia - Canada, northern + western USA * '' Gaillardia arizonica'' A.Gray – Arizona blanketflower - Sonora, southwestern USA * '' Gaillardia cabrerae'' ( Lihue Calel, Argentina) * '' Gaillardia coahuilensis'' B.L.Turner – bandanna daisy - Coahuila, Texas * '' Gaillardia comosa'' 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 San Luis () is the capital city of San Luis Province in the Cuyo, Argentina, Cuyo region of Argentina. It is also the seat of the Juan Martín de Pueyrredón Department. City information Points of interest in the city include the Park of the Na ...

) ** ''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 ''Gaillardia pulchella'' (firewheel, Indian blanket, Indian blanketflower, or sundance) is a North American species of short-lived perennial or annual plant, annual flowering plants in the Asteraceae, sunflower family. Description The branchin ...

'' 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 Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja, San Luis Province, San Lui ...

) * '' 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