genus of leafy, branching herbs of the family Asteraceae, native to North America. Several summer-blooming species are cultivated as garden ornamentals, especially blanketflower (G. aristata) and annual blanketflower (G. pulchella; see photograph![Annual blanketflower (Gaillardia pulchella).[Credits : Gilbert S. Grant/Photo Researchers]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/37/737-003-8332906D.gif)
).
They have purple disk flowers and yellow, orange, or white ray flowers with three or more teeth that give the plant a fringed appearance. Most have hairy leaves that are either grouped at the base of the plant or alternate along the stem.
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "Gaillardia" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.