Gerbera L.
First published in Opera Var.: 247 (1758)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is Tropical & S. Africa to China and Indo-China, Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali).
Descriptions
Compositae, H. Beentje, C. Jeffrey & D.J.N. Hind. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2005
- Morphology General Habit
- Scapose herbs with perennial rootstock becoming ± woody with age
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves all in a basal rosette, prostrate or ± ascending, petiolate or with a petioloid base, pinnately veined, entire to pinnatifid
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Scape
- Scapes 1–several from each rosette, sometimes precocious, erect, bracteate or ebracteate, simple, 1-headed
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
- Capitula solitary, terminal, erect, heterogamous, apparently radiate but with all florets bilabiate, the female with usually much reduced staminodes; involucre cylindrical to campanulate; phyllaries ± 3-seriate, imbricate, the outer shorter, the inner ± subequal and with ± membranous glabrous margins, glabrous inside
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
- Outer florets female; corolla of outermost florets with narrow tube, radiating 3-toothed lower lip and upper lip of 2 narrow, short, linear often curled lobes, other female florets with short non-radiating lower lip; style branches very short, ovoid to club-shaped Inner florets hermaphrodite, the corolla with broader tube and short broader lower lip; anthers strongly sagittate or tailed; style branches short, oblong, obtuse
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Achenes all similar, ± fusiform, apically narrowed or distinctly beaked, somewhat dorsiventrally compressed, 5–10-ribbed, brownish, usually pilose; pappus of numerous barbellate bristles, whitish, tawny or purplish.
M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS
- Morphology General Habit
- Scapose herbs with perennial rootstock
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves all in a basal rosette
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Scape
- Scapes 1–several from each rosette, sometimes precocious, simple, 1-headed
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Capitula solitary, terminal, heterogamous, apparently radiate but with all florets 2-lipped
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
- Outer florets female; corolla with narrow tube, radiating 3-toothed lower lip and upper lip of 2 narrow, short lobes Inner florets bisexual, the corolla with broader tube and short broader lower lip; anthers strongly sagittate or tailed; style-arms short, oblong, obtuse
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Achenes all similar, ± fusiform, apically narrowed or distinctly beaked, somewhat flattened; pappus of numerous barbellate bristles, whitish, tawny or purplish.
- Distribution
- Afroasian genus of some 22 species, centered in southern Africa and Madagascar.
Compositae, G. V. Pope. Flora Zambesiaca 6:1. 1992
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
- Style branches of hermaphrodite flowers shortly and broadly lanceolate, the tips rounded or subacute with short pollen-sweeping hairs outside.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Achenes narrowly flask-shaped, ± attenuate above or prolonged into an apical beak, 4–10-ribbed, sparsely puberulous.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Pappus several-seriate of minutely barbellate setae.
- Morphology General Habit
- Scapigerous perennial herbs from woody rootstocks; rootcrowns lanate, roots numerous spreading thong-like or fusiform.
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves radical, entire serrulate to dentate or sinuate-pinnatifid, sometimes villose to closely tomentose on the lower surface, usually glabrescent Scapes 1-several, ebracteate in the Flora Zambesiaca area, often appearing before or with the young leaves, sometimes elongating after seed-set, erect, densely villose-tomentose towards the apex, glabrescent in the lower part.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
- Capitula solitary, heterogamous, bilabiate-radiate; corollas all 2-lipped, the outer lip strap-shaped or shortly elliptic (2)3-denticulate, the inner lip of 2 small linear lobes.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Involucre
- Involucres broadly obconic; phyllaries numerous, imbricate, increasing in size to the inside, narrowly lanceolate or linear-triangular.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle
- Receptacle flat, shallowly alveolate.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
- Inner florets hermaphrodite or functionally male. Outer florets female the marginal ones radiate and the submarginal ones equally bilabiate, staminodes usually present (often absent in Gerbera piloselloides).
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
- Corollas white yellow pink or red.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
- Anthers with narrowly ovate apical appendages, and sagittate bases with tails entire or ciliate.
Sources
-
Flora Zambesiaca
- Flora Zambesiaca
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Flora of Somalia
- Flora of Somalia
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Flora of Tropical East Africa
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Kew Backbone Distributions
- The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
- © Copyright 2022 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
-
Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
- The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
- © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0