COMPOSITAE (COMPOSITE FAMILY) 
Means of control 
Prevent seed production by close cutting or hand-pulling when 
the plant is in first bloom. 
BLANKET FLOWER 
Gailldrdia aristata, Pursh. 
Other English name: Great-flowered Gaillardia. 
Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds. 
Time of bloom: May to September. 
Seed-time: June to October. : 
Range: Minnesota to British Columbia, southward to Colorado, 
New Mexico, and Texas. 
Habitat: Plains and prairies ; mead- 
ows and pastures. 
This plant is cultivated in eastern 
flower gardens for its beauty, and 
frequently escapes to roadsides and 
fields where it rivals Black-eyed 
Susan for showiness. Stems one to 
three feet tall, sometimes branched 
but usually simple, very slender, 
clothed with jointed hairs. Leaves 
rather thick, also finely hairy, the 
basal ones with petioles; they are 
exceedingly variable, some being 
lance-shaped, others spatulate; 
some deeply cut, even pinnatifid, 
others entire; some plants have 
leaves all basal, while others have a 
few stem leaves which are sessile. 
Heads large, two to four inches 
across, the rounded disk of a pur- 
plish brown, the tubular florets with 
fringed lobes and protruding forked 
styles, also reddish brown, very long 
Fig. 336. — Blanket Flower (Gail- and fine; rays yellow, long, wedge- 
lardia aristata). X }. shaped, toothed at the tips; bracts 
