Gaillardia aristata

Blanketflower

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Blanketflower is a naturalized perennial found in eastern Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, and southwestern California in open grassy or disturbed sites at elevations below 2,500 meters. Flowering from June to November, this plant produces distinctive ray flowers in yellow and red, with rays 1 to 3.5 centimeters long and disk flowers featuring deep purple or brown centers with red-purple woolly hairs. Growing with 2 to 7 decimeters tall erect stems emerging from a slender woody taproot, the plant has a somewhat hairy appearance throughout. Its leaves are variable, with lower leaves 5 to 15 centimeters long, ranging from oblong to lance-ovate and capable of being entire or pinnately lobed. The fruit is 2.5 to 4 millimeters long, covered in dense hairs and topped with a 7 to 10 millimeter pappus.

Habitat: Open grassy or disturbed sites

Bloom period: Jun-Nov

Elevation: < 2500 m

Bioregions: e CaR, SN, SW

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.