Gaillardia aristata

About

Gaillardia aristata is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is known by the common names common blanketflower and common gaillardia. This perennial wildflower is native to the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, but cultivars have been introduced in much of North America and Europe. Blanketflower is an early- to mid-successional species typically found growing alongside native grasses, sagebrush, or conifers. It is pollinated by a variety of bees and beetles, and host to Schinia masoni. Indigenous communities of the Pacific Northwest and northern plains used blanketflower as an ingredient in a variety of medicines, including those for heatstroke, headaches, and tuberculosis. The first Gaillardia aristata specimen was collected in 1806 on the Lewis and Clark expedition, and first described by Frederick Pursh in 1814.

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