Annuals, 5-40 cm. Leaves mostly basal, mostly restricted to proximal ¹/5(-¹/3+); petiolar bases 0-2+ cm; blades oblanceolate, obovate, or spatulate, 3-6(-9) cm × 5-25 mm, mostly raggedly pinnately lobed, sometimes entire, sparsely to densely villous with jointed hairs. Peduncles 5-35 cm. Phyllaries 14-20, lanceolate to lance-attenuate, 6-12+ mm, ciliate with jointed hairs. Receptacular setae 0 or 0.3-0.8 mm. Ray florets 10-13; corollas yellow to orange, 17-22 mm. Disc florets 40-100+; corollas yellow, tubes 0.6-0.8 mm, throats campanulate, 2.8-3 mm, lobes deltate, 0.5-0.7 mm, jointed hairs to 0.3 mm. Cypselae obpyramidal, 2 mm, hairs 2 mm, inserted at bases and on angles and faces; pappi of 8-10 obovate or ovate to lanceolate, aristate or muticous scales 2-5 mm (if aristate, scarious bases 2-3.5 × 1.3-1.6 mm). 2n = 34.

Flowering Mar-May. Sandy desert washes and fans; 300-1200 m; Ariz., Nev., Utah; Mexico (Sonora).

Duration: Annual

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Herbaceous annuals, 5-40 cm tall, stems usually erect and branching from bases or throughout.

Leaves: Alternate and mostly basal, oblanceolate, obovate, or spatulate, 3-9 cm long and 5-25 mm wide, usually raggedly pinnately lobed, sometimes entire, faces sparsely to densely villous with jointed hairs, petiolar bases 0-2 cm long or more.

Flowers: Yellow to orange with yellow centers, large and showy with both ray and disk flowers; ray florets yellow to orange, 10-13, corollas 17-22 mm long, disc florets yellow, 40-100 or more, corolla lobes deltate, to 1 mm long, surfaces with jointed hairs to 0.3 mm long, corolla tubes to 1 mm long, with campanulate throats to 3 mm long, receptacular setae absent or less than 1 mm long, phyllaries 14-20, lanceolate to lance-attenuate, 6-12 mm long or more, these ciliate with jointed hairs, flowers borne on peduncles 5-35 cm long.

Fruits: Cypselae (achenes) obpyramidal, to 2 mm long, faces with hairs to 2 mm long, these inserted at bases and on angles and faces. Pappi of 8-10 obovate or ovate to lanceolate, aristate (awned) or muticous (awnless), paleae (scales) broadly oblong or oval, 2-5

Ecology: Found in sandy desert washes and alluvial fans, plains and mesas, from 1,000-4,000 ft (305-1219 m); flowering February-July.

Distribution: Arizona, Nevada, Utah; Mexico.

Notes: This pretty native of the southwest makes a great ornamental. The large receptacle, numerous disk flowers, and shorter yellow or orange rays flowers help to identify this species. (For those in Arizona, think Baileya multiradiata with smaller leaves and shorter, thinner rays). Look to the oblong to oval awned or awnless scales of the paleae, yellow ray and disk flowers, and the leaf blades with variable margins to help identify this species. Kearney and Peebles report two varities in Arizona but these are now considered synonyms for this species which is found in eastern Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Pinal, Pima and Pima Counties in Arizona.

Ethnobotany: Specific uses for this species are unknown, but other species in the genus have uses.

Etymology: Gaillardia is named after Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate, naturalist and patron of botany, while arizonica means of or from Arizona.

Synonyms: Gaillardia arizonica var. pringlei

Editor: LCrumbacher2012