Gerbera

Scientific

Gerbera contains ~30 species across South Africa, Madagascar, parts of Africa, and South America. The principal commercial species:

• Gerbera jamesonii — Barberton daisy / Transvaal daisy; native to South Africa (Mpumalanga province); the foundation of the modern cut-flower industry
• Gerbera hybrida — interspecific hybrids derived primarily from G. jamesonii and G. viridifolia; the dominant commercial form

The flower is a composite (typical of Asteraceae) — what looks like a single bloom is actually a dense head containing hundreds of small flowers, with the outer “petals” being ray flowers and the central disc containing tiny disc flowers.

NASA has studied gerbera as a houseplant for air purification — the species removes some volatile organic compounds from indoor air at modestly higher rates than some other common houseplants.

Cultural and economic

Gerbera jamesonii was first scientifically described in the 1880s after collection in the Transvaal region of South Africa. Within decades the species had become a foundation of European ornamental breeding. By the late 20th century, gerbera was the fourth-most-traded cut flower in the world after rose, [[carnation|carnation]], and [[chrysanthemum|chrysanthemum]].

The modern cut-flower industry depends on enormous-scale glasshouse production in the Netherlands, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, and Ethiopia — the standard global cut-flower-producer geography. Gerbera’s combination of stem strength, vase life, saturated colors, and large flower size has made it a staple of supermarket bouquets, wedding florals, and corporate floral arrangement.

See also

Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.

• Shares approach with: [[zinnia]] · [[yarrow]] · [[wormwood]] · [[tarragon]] · [[sunflower]] · [[stevia]]
• Member of: [[plants]]

Sources

• Wikipedia — Gerbera

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A plant entry in the 0mn1.one [[directory]].