Gerbera

Gerbera is a genus of ornamental plants from the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It was named in honor of the German naturalist Traugott Gerber, a friend of Carolus Linnaeus.

It has approximately 30 species in the wild, extending to South America, Africa, Madagascar, and tropical Asia. 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 African species also known as Transvaal daisy or Barberton Daisy.

Gerbera species bear a large capitulum with striking, two-lipped ray florets in yellow, orange, white, pink or red colors. The capitulum, which has the appearance of a single flower, is actually composed of hundreds of individual flowers. The morphology of the flowers varies depending on their position in the capitulum.

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 Gerbera jamesonii and another South African species Gerbera viridifolia. The cross is known as Gerbera hybrida. Thousands of cultivars exist. They vary greatly in shape and size. Colors include white, yellow, orange, red, and pink. The center of the flower is sometimes black. Often the same flower can have petals of several different colors.

Gerbera is also important commercially. It is the fifth most used cut flower in the world (after rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, and tulip). It is also used as a model organism in studying flower formation. Gerbera contains naturally occurring coumarin derivatives.


Species
Gerbera jamesoni - A flower, the Barberton daisy was discovered in Barberton, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa (1889) by Robert Jameson. It is a member of the Gerbera genus. The Gerbera daisy is perennial and reproduces asexually. The flag and coat of arms of Mpumalanga Province employ this flower as an emblem of that locality.

Gerbera piloselloides
Gerbera plantaginea
Gerbera plicata
Gerbera podophylla
Gerbera aspleniifolia
Gerbera aurantiaca : Hilton Daisy
Gerbera bojeri
Gerbera bonatiana
Gerbera bracteata
Gerbera brevipes
Gerbera burchellii
Gerbera pterodonta
Gerbera elliptica
Gerbera emirnensis
Gerbera ferruginea
Gerbera flava
Gerbera galpinii
Gerbera glandulosa
Gerbera pulvinata
Gerbera pumila
Gerbera randii
Gerbera raphanifolia
Gerbera lacei
Gerbera lagascae
Gerbera lanuginosa
Gerbera lasiopus
Gerbera latiligulata
Gerbera leandrii
Gerbera leiocarpa
Gerbera leucothrix
Gerbera lijiangensis
Gerbera burmanni
Gerbera candollei
Gerbera cavaleriei
Gerbera chilensis
Gerbera cineraria
Gerbera connata
Gerbera lynchii
Gerbera macrocephala
Gerbera nepalensis
Gerbera knorringiana
Gerbera kokanica
Gerbera kraussii
Gerbera kunzeana
Gerbera nervosa
Gerbera nivea
Gerbera parva
Gerbera peregrina
Gerbera perrieri
Gerbera petasitifolia
Gerbera ruficoma
Gerbera saxatilis
Gerbera semifloscularis
Gerbera henryi
Gerbera hieracioides
Gerbera hirsuta
Gerbera hypochaeridoides
Gerbera integralis
Gerbera integripetala
Gerbera serotina
Gerbera speciosa
Gerbera tanantii
Gerbera tomentosa
Gerbera tuberosa
Gerbera uncinata
Gerbera viridifolia
Gerbera conrathii
Gerbera cordata
Gerbera coronopifolia
Gerbera curvisquama
Gerbera aberdarica
Gerbera abyssinica
Gerbera ambigua
Gerbera anandria - Ghostly Daisy
Gerbera delavayi
Gerbera discolor
Gerbera diversifolia
Gerbera elegans
Gerbera welwitschii
Gerbera wrightii

Gerbera Daisy - Gerbera jamesonii

Author Jonathan Zander. Under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License

Barberton daisy

 

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