What Makes It a Gerbera?

Namesakes

• One identifying characteristic of a plant is its botanical name. Common names can refer to different plants, but scientific taxonomic classifications refer to specific plants. There are many daisies, but gerbera is the specific identification that makes it unique from other daisies. The genus namesake for this plant is Traugott Gerber, a German naturalist. According to the Alabama Cooperative Extension, Robert Jameson discovered the gerbera daisy in 1880. This is the origin of “jamesonii,” its species name. Jameson found the daisy near the town of Barberton in the Transvaal region of South Africa. Other common names for the gerbera daisy are Barberton daisy and Transvaal daisy.

Taxonomic Classification

• Morphology groups similar plants into plant families. This is another characteristic that identifies gerberas. In the plant kingdom, gerberas are flowering, dicotyledonous, seed-bearing vascular plants. This simply means that they have nutrient transport systems, their seeds have two sets of embryonic leaves and they bear flowers. They are in the aster family, a group of plants that have daisy-like flowers, such as sunflowers, chrysanthemums, dandelions and even lettuce. According to Union County College, there are approximately 70 species of gerbera.

Cultivars

• Cultivar is botanical shorthand for “cultivated variety.” The University of California at Davis developed an extensive breeding program for gerberas in the 1970s, says J.R. Kessler, Jr., Auburn University horticulturist. Current breeding programs maintain gerberas' identifying characteristics, but strive for improved vigor, compact growth habit and continuous flowering. Different cultivars have varying flower types, including single, intermediate and crested. Although there are visual differences in flowers, what makes it a gerbera is unchanging. All cultivars of gerberas belong to the same taxonomic classification.

Flowers

• It is the flower of the gerbera daisy that makes it desirable and marketable. Aster-family flowers have similar appearances, making them attractive to pollinators. There are generally two types of flowers comprising the flower heads: disk flowers are tightly compacted at the center of flower heads, and ray flowers are longer petals arranged around the disk. Botany aside, it is the visual impact of large daisy-like flowers from a vast color palette that gives gerbera its appeal.