Gerbera Cass. nom. cons.

Herbs, perennial, scapigerous, villose, hairs decaying with age. Leaves radical, membranous to subcoriaceous. Scape naked or scaly, generally pilose villose, sometimes cobwebby. Heads yellow or white, heterogamous, radiate or homogamous, discoid, solitary. Involucre turbinate or broadly campanulate; involucral bracts usually lanceolate, acute; outer ones shorter. Ray florets exceeding the involucre, mostly 1-seriate, female, fertile, rarely absent. Disc florets bisexual, fertile. Anther bases sagittate , long tailed, ciliate. Style branches short, rounded, hairy. Achenes elliptic, 5-10-ribbed, papillose. Pappus whitish or whitish tawny, copious.

Himalayas, S.W. China, Bhutan, Nepal; 6 species, 3 in India.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Ray florets absent; corolla tube with a constriction

2. Gerbera maxima

b. Ray florets present; corolla tube without a constriction

2

2a. Lamina membranous; involucral bracts glabrous; ray florets often yellow

3. Gerbera nivea

b. Lamina rigid; involucral bracts pilose; ray florets never yellow

1. Gerbera gossypina

List of Lower Taxa