Gerbera (/ˈ dʒ ɜrb ərə/ or / ˈɡ ɜrb ərə/ ) L. is a
genus of ornamental plants from the
sunflower family ( Asteraceae). It was named
in honour of the German botanist and
naturalist Traugott Gerber († 1743) who
travelled extensively in Russia and was a
friend of Carolus Linnaeus. [1]
It has approximately 30 species in the wild,
extending to South America , Africa 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 is also
commonly known as the African Daisy.
Gerbera species bear a large capitulum with
striking, two-lipped ray florets in yellow,
orange, white, pink or red colours. 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 . The
flower heads can be as small as 7 cm
(Gerbera mini 'Harley') in diameter or up to
12 cm (Gerbera ‘Golden Serena’).
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 .[2] The cross is known as Gerbera
hybrida . Thousands of cultivars exist. They
vary greatly in shape and size. Colours
include white, yellow, orange, red, and
pink. The centre of the flower is sometimes
black. Often the same flower can have
petals of several different colours.
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. Gerbera is
a tender perennial plant . It is attractive to
bees, butterflies and/or birds, but resistant
to deer. [3] Their soil should be kept moist
but not soaked.
