Foothills, montane. Openings. Summer.
Near Yellow Jacket Canyon, June 14, 2004.

This Blanketflower has flowers to three inches in diameter, and very hairy elongated leaves (those in the middle bottom of the picture). (The leaves and stems in the middle top of the picture are from Rabbitbrush.) Gaillardia aristata seeds itself readily, re-grows from old root stock, and flowers from June through September making it very nice in flower gardens.

"Aristata" is Latin for "awn" or "bristle" and refers to the narrow projections of the pappus.

Meriwether Lewis collected the first specimens of this plant on the Lewis and Clark Pass of Montana in 1806 and the plant was named by Frederick Pursh in his Flora Americae Septentrionalis in 1814. (More biographical information.)

Foothills, montane. Openings. Summer. June 14, 2004.
Near Yellow Jacket Canyon, June 14, 2004.

Foothills, montane. Openings. Summer. June 14, 2004.
Near Yellow Jacket Canyon, June 8, 2006.

Desert, semi-desert. Openings. Spring and early summer.
East of Bluff, Utah, May 3, 2007.

The eye-catching combination of burnt red and bright yellow make this an easy flower to spot. This and the above species of Gaillardia spread readily from seed and large areas along roads and in sandy soils can be lined or dotted with their bright flowers.  Since  Blanketflowers reproduce so readily, the seeds of several species are often included in western wildflower mixes.  Stems are long and lanky and flowers bob and sway in the wind.

Desert, semi-desert. Openings. Spring and early summer.
East of Bluff, Utah, May 3, 2007.

Desert, semi-desert. Openings. Spring and early summer.
East of Bluff, Utah, May 3, 2007.

It is common for outer yellow ray flowers to be three lobed.