Great Blanketflower (Gaillardia, Brown-Eyed Susan)
Gaillardia aristata
July 7, 1806, in Lewis and Clark County, Montana.
Great blanketflower is an erect plant with clasping, dandelionlike leaves. The inch-long (2.5-centimeter-long) petals have yellow, three-toothed tips and dark red bases. These surround disk flowers, which are the same color as the base of the petals. Tufts of hairs project from the seedlike fruits, and the entire plant is covered with fuzzy hairs. Height: 2-4 ft (0.6-1.2 m).
Plains; prairies; meadows.
British Columbia to Saskatchewan, south to northern Oregon (mostly east of the Cascades), northern Utah, Colorado, and Kansas; also reported in California.
The plant's fuzzy hairs can cause a skin irritation in some susceptible people.
