Gerbera L. is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae. It was named in honour of German botanist and medical doctor Traugott Gerber who travelled extensively in Russia and was a friend of Carl Linnaeus. Gerbera is native to tropical regions of South America, Africa and 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 in diameter or up to 12 cm. Gerbera is very popular and widely used as a decorativegarden 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. 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. It is also used as a model organism in studying flower formation. Gerbera contains naturally occurringcoumarin derivatives. Gerbera is a tender perennial plant. It is attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds, but resistant to deer. Small ones are called gerbrinis. ; Species ; Formerly included Numerous species once considered members of Gerbera are now regarded as more suited to other genera: Chaptalia, Leibnitzia, Mairia, Perdicium, Trichocline, and Uechtritzia.
