Gaillardia aristata (Blanketflower) - photos and description
Origin: Native.
General: Stout-stemmed plants, usually with a single stem, and hirsute foliage, having showy flowers.
Flowers: Large flower heads on long peduncles, with red disk florets, a cone shaped centre of flower, and yellow ray florets. We measured a flower head to 6 cm diameter.
Leaves: Leaves are oblong to spatulate, are grey-green in colour, and sometimes lobed. Stem leaves are alternate, growing on the lower half of stems. We measured a stem leaf at 9 cm long and 2 cm wide. Basal leaves have longer petioles, we measured a basal leaf at 13 cm long and 32 mm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 60 cm, we measured plants to 45 cm tall.
Habitat: Dry prairie.
Abundance: Common.
When and where photographed: The above photos were taken on June 19th, prairie, Buffalo Grass Eco Reserve, 200 km southeast of Regina, SK, June 26th, grassland about 70 km south of Regina, SK, and July 5th prairie atop the Qu'Appelle River Valley, 35 km north of our home in Regina, SK.