{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
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{{Automatic taxobox
{{Automatic taxobox
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””’Gazania””’ {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|z|eɪ|n|i|ə}}<ref>”Sunset Western Garden Book,” 1995:606–607</ref> is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant]]s in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Asteraceae]], [[Indigenous (ecology)|native]] to [[Southern Africa]].<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37208442#page/507/mode/1up Gaertner, Joseph. 1791. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum 2(3): 451–452] in Latin</ref><ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37208442#page/671/mode/1up Gaertner, Joseph. 1791. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum 2(3): plate CLXXIII (173)] line drawing of ”Gazania rigens”</ref><ref name=x/><ref name=”Karis2007″>Per Ola Karis. 2007. “Arctotideae” pages 200–207. In: Klaus Kubitzki (series editor); Joachim W. Kadereit and Charles Jeffrey (volume editors). ”The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants” volume VIII. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany.</ref>
””’Gazania””’ {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|z|eɪ|n|i|ə}}<ref>”Sunset Western Garden Book,” 1995:606–607</ref> is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant]]s in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Asteraceae]], [[Indigenous (ecology)|native]] to [[Southern Africa]]. ] in – and .
==Taxonomic history==
==Taxonomic history==
[[File:Gazania rigens 1791.png|thumb|left|Illustrations of ”[[Gazania rigens]]” from ”[[De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum]]”, 1791]]
[[File:Gazania rigens 1791.png|thumb|left|Illustrations of ”[[Gazania rigens]]” from ”[[De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum]]”, 1791]]
The genus was first formally described by German botanist [[Joseph Gaertner]] in the second volume of his major work ”[[De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum]]” in 1791.<ref name=”Aluka – Gazania”/> Gaertner named the genus after [[Theodorus Gaza]], a 15th-century translator of the works of [[Theophrastus]].<ref name=”howis2009″>Seranne Howis, Nigel P. Barker, and Ladislav Mucina. 2009. “Globally grown, but poorly known: species limits and biogeography of ”Gazania” Gaertn. (Asteraceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequence data”. ”Taxon” ”’58”'(3):871-882.</ref>
The genus was first formally described by German botanist [[Joseph Gaertner]] in the second volume of his major work ”[[De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum]]” in 1791.<ref name=”Aluka – Gazania”/> Gaertner named the genus after [[Theodorus Gaza]], a 15th-century translator of the works of [[Theophrastus]].<ref name=”howis2009″>Seranne Howis, Nigel P. Barker, and Ladislav Mucina. 2009. “Globally grown, but poorly known: species limits and biogeography of ”Gazania” Gaertn. (Asteraceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequence data”. ”Taxon” ”’58”'(3):871-882.</ref>
”Gazania” is a member of the [[Tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Arctotideae]] and the [[Taxonomic rank|subtribe]] [[Gorteriinae]]. Within the subtribe it is close to ”[[Hirpicium]]” and ”[[Gorteria]]”.<ref name=”funk2008″>Vicki A. Funk and Raymund Chan. 2008. “Phylogeny of the Spiny African Daisies (Compositae, tribe Arctotideae, subtribe Gorteriinae) based on ”trn”L-F, ”ndh”F, and ITS sequence data”. ”Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution” ”’48”'(1):47-60.</ref> Many of the [[species]] of ”Gazania” are hard to distinguish and the number of species assigned to the genus has varied widely from one author to another.
”Gazania” is a member of the [[Tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Arctotideae]] and the [[Taxonomic rank|subtribe]] [[Gorteriinae]]. Within the subtribe it is close to ”[[Hirpicium]]” and ”[[Gorteria]]”.<ref name=”funk2008″>Vicki A. Funk and Raymund Chan. 2008. “Phylogeny of the Spiny African Daisies (Compositae, tribe Arctotideae, subtribe Gorteriinae) based on ”trn”L-F, ”ndh”F, and ITS sequence data”. ”Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution” ”’48”'(1):47-60.</ref>
In 1959, [[Helmut Roessler]] published what he considered to be a preliminary revision of ”Gazania”. At that time, he recognized 16 species.<ref name=”roessler1959″>Helmut Rössler. 1959. “Revision der Arctotideae – Gorteriinae (Compositae)”. ”Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung München” ”’3”’:71-500.</ref> Roessler published some amendments to his [[Academic publishing#Scholarly paper|treatment]] in 1973.<ref name=”roessler1973″>Helmut Roessler. 1973. ”Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung Muenchen” ”’11”’:91-99.</ref>
In 1959, [[Helmut Roessler]] published what he considered to be a preliminary revision of ”Gazania”. At that time, he 16 species.<ref name=”roessler1959″>Helmut Rössler. 1959. “Revision der Arctotideae – Gorteriinae (Compositae)”. ”Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung München” ”’3”’:71-500.</ref> Roessler published some amendments to his [[Academic publishing#Scholarly paper|treatment]] in 1973.<ref name=”roessler1973″>Helmut Roessler. 1973. ”Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung Muenchen” ”’11”’:91-99.</ref>
In 2009, a [[phylogeny]] of the genus was published. It was based on [[molecular phylogenetic]] analysis of [[chloroplast]] and [[Cell nucleus|nuclear]] [[DNA sequence]]s.<ref name=”howis2009″/> In this [[Research|study]], all of Roessler’s species except ”Gazania othonnites” were [[Sample (material)|sampled]]. The authors found that eight species were not really separate, but formed a [[Cryptic species complex|species complex]]. The seven species found to be distinct were ”G. jurineifolia, G. caespitosa, G. ciliaris, G. tenuifolia, G. heterochaeta, G. schenckii,” and ”G. lichtensteinii”.
In 2009, a [[phylogeny]] of the genus was published. It was based on [[molecular phylogenetic]] analysis of [[chloroplast]] and [[Cell nucleus|nuclear]] [[DNA sequence]]s.<ref name=”howis2009″/> In this [[Research|study]], all of Roessler’s species except ”Gazania othonnites” were [[Sample (material)|sampled]]. The authors found that eight species were not really separate, but formed a [[Cryptic species complex|species complex]]. The seven species found to be distinct were ”G. jurineifolia, G. caespitosa, G. ciliaris, G. tenuifolia, G. heterochaeta, G. schenckii,” and ”G. lichtensteinii”.
==Description==
==Distribution==
==Distribution==
The genus occurs from low-altitude sands to alpine meadows<ref name=RHSAZ /> in South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Angola.<ref name=”Aluka – Gazania”/> Additionally, species are [[Introduced species|naturalised]] and declared weed in South Australia, New Zealand, the Mediterranean, and California.<ref name=”Aluka – Gazania”>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.FLORA.FZ5061&pgs= |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130801230005/http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.FLORA.FZ5061&pgs= |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-08-01 |title=Aluka – Entry for Gazania Gaertn. [family COMPOSITAE] |accessdate=2008-04-11 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=gn&name=gazania |title=Genus ”Gazania” |accessdate=2008-04-11 |author=|work= PlantNET – New South Wales Flora Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia}}</ref>
The genus occurs from low-altitude sands to alpine meadows<ref name=RHSAZ /> in South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Angola.<ref name=”Aluka – Gazania”/>
species [[Introduced species|]] and declared in Australia, New Zealand, the Mediterranean, and California.<ref name=”Aluka – Gazania”>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.FLORA.FZ5061&pgs= |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130801230005/http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.FLORA.FZ5061&pgs= |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-08-01 |title=Aluka – Entry for Gazania Gaertn. [family COMPOSITAE] |accessdate=2008-04-11 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=gn&name=gazania |title=Genus ”Gazania” |accessdate=2008-04-11 |author=|work= PlantNET – New South Wales Flora Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia}}</ref>
===Australia===
”Gazania” were first imported to Australia as garden plants in the 1950s and 1970s, touted for their low-maintenance cultivation and drought tolerance. However, they have since become an [[invasive species]], due to their tolerance of harsh growing conditions, after escaping gardens. They have naturalised along roadsides and coastlines, invaded native [[grassland]]s and also started taking over vast tracts of agricultural land in [[South Australia]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]] and parts of [[Western Australia]]. The plant’s seed dispersal via wind has spread the plants into remote places, including the tops of [[sandhill]]s and among native vegetation.<ref name=schremmer2025/> It has spread in the Mallee and Wimmera regions.<ref name=kennedy/> All subspecies are listed as environmental weeds in the state of Victoria, while the most common subspecies, ”[[Gazania rigens]]”, is listed in [[Queensland]], [[Tasmania]], and [[New South Wales]]. South Australia has banned their sale in nurseries; however, nurseries in other states still sell them, including online. The [[Invasive Species Council]] has urged the [[Australian Government|federal government]] to introduce national regulation to prevent invasive garden plants being sold by nurseries.<ref name=schremmer2025>{{cite web |last=Schremmer |first=Jessica |title=Farmers and environmentalists call for national ban on selling invasive weed gazania |website=ABC News |date=4 November 2025 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2025-11-05/calls-to-ban-invasive-weed-sales-at-nurseries-in-australia/105956004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251124092837/https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2025-11-05/calls-to-ban-invasive-weed-sales-at-nurseries-in-australia/105956004 |archive-date=24 November 2025 |url-status=live |access-date=31 January 2026}}</ref> [[Bunnings]] and other sellers of invasive plants have been lobbied by environmentalists about their sale of gazanias and other invasive species, such as [[English ivy]].<ref name=kennedy>{{cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Else |title=Retail giant Bunnings under fire for stocking invasive weeds that threaten Australian ecosystems |website=ABC News |date=14 July 2024 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-07-15/bunnings-criticised-for-stocking-invasive-weed-species-vic/104084222 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250922034121/https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-07-15/bunnings-criticised-for-stocking-invasive-weed-species-vic/104084222 |archive-date=22 September 2025 |url-status=live |access-date=31 January 2026}}</ref>
==Cultivation==
==Cultivation==
Numerous [[cultivars]] have been selected for variety of colour and habit. In [[temperateness|temperate]] regions, they are usually grown as half-hardy [[annual plant|annuals]].<ref name=RHSAZ /> A commonly grown variety is the ”’trailing gazania”’ (”[[Gazania rigens]]” var. ”leucolaena”). It is commonly used as [[groundcover]] and can be planted ”en masse” to cover large areas or embankments, assisted by its fast growth rate. Cultivars of this variety include ‘Sunburst’, ‘Sunglow’, and ‘Sunrise Yellow’.<ref name=sunset/> Another popular cultivated variety is the ”’clumping gazania”’ (”[[Gazania rigens]]”), which has a number of named cultivars including ‘Aztec’, ‘Burgundy’, ‘Copper King’, ‘Fiesta Red’, ‘Goldrush’ and ‘Moonglow’.
Numerous [[cultivars]] have been selected for variety of colour and habit. In [[temperateness|temperate]] regions, they are usually grown as half-hardy [[annual plant|annuals]].<ref name=RHSAZ /> A commonly grown variety is the ”’trailing gazania”’ (”[[Gazania rigens]]” var. ”leucolaena”). It is commonly used as [[groundcover]] and can be planted ”en masse” to cover large areas or embankments, assisted by its fast growth rate. Cultivars of this variety include ‘Sunburst’, ‘Sunglow’, and ‘Sunrise Yellow’.<ref name=sunset/> Another popular cultivated variety is the ”’clumping gazania”’ (”[[Gazania rigens]]”), which has a number of named cultivars including ‘Aztec’, ‘Burgundy’, ‘Copper King’, ‘Fiesta Red’, ‘Goldrush’ and ‘Moonglow’.
<ref name=sunset/>
<ref name=sunset/>
The following cultivars have gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]’s [[Award of Garden Merit]]:<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants – Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 39 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 27 February 2018}}</ref>
The following cultivars have gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]’s [[Award of Garden Merit]]:<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants – Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 39 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 27 February 2018}}</ref>
* ”G.” ‘Aztec'<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/95312/i-Gazania-i-Aztec/Details
* ”G.” ‘Aztec'<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/95312/i-Gazania-i-Aztec/Details
==Species==
==Species==
Sources:<ref name=j/><ref name=apd>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/resultat.php |title=African plants database |accessdate=2008-04-11 }}</ref>
Sources:<ref name=j/><ref name=apd>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/resultat.php |title=African plants database |accessdate=2008-04-11 }}</ref>
==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery>
<gallery>
Image:Gazania heterochaeta.jpg|”Gazania heterochaeta” Goegap N.R., Namaqualand, Northern Cape, South Africa
Image:Gazania heterochaeta.jpg|”Gazania heterochaeta” Goegap N.R., Namaqualand, Northern Cape, South Africa
Image:Gazania lichtensteinii.JPG|”Gazania lichtensteinii” Goegap N.R., Namaqualand, Northern Cape, South Africa
Image:Gazania lichtensteinii.JPG|”Gazania lichtensteinii” Goegap N.R., Namaqualand, Northern Cape, South Africa
Image:Gazania rigens-1.jpg|”Gazania rigens” (flower)
Image:Gazania rigens-1.jpg|”Gazania rigens” (flower)
Image:Gazania x Copper King.jpg|Clumping gazania (Gazania rigens) cultivar known as ‘Copper King‘ at the [[Desert Demonstration Garden]] in Las Vegas
Image:Gazania x Copper King.jpg|Clumping gazania (Gazania rigens) cultivar known as Copper King at the [[Desert Demonstration Garden]] in Las Vegas
Image:WhiteGazania.JPG|White and purple gazania
Image:WhiteGazania.JPG|White and purple gazania
Image:Gazania Rigens Yellow White (1).jpg|Yellow and White variety of ”[[Gazania rigens]]”
Image:Gazania Rigens Yellow White (1).jpg|Yellow and White variety of ”Gazania rigens”
Image:Orange flowers 4.jpg|Orange gazania in Palestine
Image:Orange flowers 4.jpg|Orange gazania
Image:Gazania flower 2.jpg|Gazania flower with some dew droplets
Image:Gazania flower 2.jpg|Gazania flower with some dew droplets
Image:Orange gazania.jpg|Orange gazania
</gallery>
</gallery>
Genus of flowering plants
Gazania [3] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Southern Africa. They produce large, daisy-like composite flowerheads in brilliant shades of yellow and orange, over a long period in summer. They are often planted as drought-tolerant groundcover, but regarded as an environmental weed in parts of Australia, the Mediterranean, New Zealand, and California, where they have become naturalised.
The genus was first formally described by German botanist Joseph Gaertner in the second volume of his major work De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum in 1791.[4] Gaertner named the genus after Theodorus Gaza, a 15th-century translator of the works of Theophrastus.[5]
Gazania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.[6][7][1][8] It is a member of the tribe Arctotideae and the subtribe Gorteriinae. Within the subtribe it is close to Hirpicium and Gorteria.[9]
Many of the species of Gazania are hard to distinguish and the number of species assigned to the genus has varied widely from one author to another.[citation needed] In 1959, Helmut Roessler published what he considered to be a preliminary revision of Gazania. At that time, he recognised 16 species.[10] Roessler published some amendments to his treatment in 1973.[11]
In 2009, a phylogeny of the genus was published. It was based on molecular phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences.[5] In this study, all of Roessler’s species except Gazania othonnites were sampled. The authors found that eight species were not really separate, but formed a species complex. The seven species found to be distinct were G. jurineifolia, G. caespitosa, G. ciliaris, G. tenuifolia, G. heterochaeta, G. schenckii, and G. lichtensteinii.[citation needed]
Gazania species produce large, daisy-like composite flowerheads in brilliant shades of yellow and orange, over a long period in summer.[12]
The gazania is native to Southern Africa. The genus occurs from low-altitude sands to alpine meadows[12] in South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Angola.[4]
Several species have been introduced and declared to be environmental weeds in parts of Australia, New Zealand, the Mediterranean, and California.[4][13]
Gazania were first imported to Australia as garden plants in the 1950s and 1970s, touted for their low-maintenance cultivation and drought tolerance. However, they have since become an invasive species, due to their tolerance of harsh growing conditions, after escaping gardens. They have naturalised along roadsides and coastlines, invaded native grasslands and also started taking over vast tracts of agricultural land in South Australia, Victoria and parts of Western Australia. The plant’s seed dispersal via wind has spread the plants into remote places, including the tops of sandhills and among native vegetation.[14] It has spread in the Mallee and Wimmera regions.[15] All subspecies are listed as environmental weeds in the state of Victoria, while the most common subspecies, Gazania rigens, is listed in Queensland, Tasmania, and New South Wales. South Australia has banned their sale in nurseries; however, nurseries in other states still sell them, including online. The Invasive Species Council has urged the federal government to introduce national regulation to prevent invasive garden plants being sold by nurseries.[14] Bunnings and other sellers of invasive plants have been lobbied by environmentalists about their sale of gazanias and other invasive species, such as English ivy.[15]
Gazania species are grown for the brilliant colour of their flowerheads which appear in the late spring and are often in bloom throughout the summer into autumn. They prefer a sunny position and are tolerant of dryness and poor soils.[16]
Numerous cultivars have been selected for variety of colour and habit. In temperate regions, they are usually grown as half-hardy annuals.[12] A commonly grown variety is the trailing gazania (Gazania rigens var. leucolaena). It is commonly used as groundcover and can be planted en masse to cover large areas or embankments, assisted by its fast growth rate. Cultivars of this variety include ‘Sunburst’, ‘Sunglow’, and ‘Sunrise Yellow’.[16] Another popular cultivated variety is the clumping gazania (Gazania rigens), which has a number of named cultivars including ‘Aztec’, ‘Burgundy’, ‘Copper King’, ‘Fiesta Red’, ‘Goldrush’ and ‘Moonglow’.
[16]
The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society‘s Award of Garden Merit:[17]
- ^ a b Tropicos, Gazania Gaertn.
- ^ a b Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ a b c “Aluka – Entry for Gazania Gaertn. [family COMPOSITAE]”. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
A South African genus of 17 species, of which G. krebsiana subsp. serrulata, is widespread from the Cape Province to Angola and Tanzania, and Gazania rigens var. uniflora extends into southern Mozambique.
- ^ a b Seranne Howis, Nigel P. Barker, and Ladislav Mucina. 2009. “Globally grown, but poorly known: species limits and biogeography of Gazania Gaertn. (Asteraceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequence data”. Taxon 58(3):871-882.
- ^ Gaertner, Joseph. 1791. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum 2(3): 451–452 in Latin
- ^ Gaertner, Joseph. 1791. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum 2(3): plate CLXXIII (173) line drawing of Gazania rigens
- ^ Per Ola Karis. 2007. “Arctotideae” pages 200-207. In: Klaus Kubitzki (series editor); Joachim W. Kadereit and Charles Jeffrey (volume editors). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants volume VIII. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany.
- ^ Vicki A. Funk and Raymund Chan. 2008. “Phylogeny of the Spiny African Daisies (Compositae, tribe Arctotideae, subtribe Gorteriinae) based on trnL-F, ndhF, and ITS sequence data”. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48(1):47-60.
- ^ Helmut Rössler. 1959. “Revision der Arctotideae – Gorteriinae (Compositae)”. Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung München 3:71-500.
- ^ Helmut Roessler. 1973. Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung Muenchen 11:91-99.
- ^ a b c RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
- ^ “Genus Gazania“. PlantNET – New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ a b Schremmer, Jessica (4 November 2025). “Farmers and environmentalists call for national ban on selling invasive weed gazania”. ABC News. Archived from the original on 24 November 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Else (14 July 2024). “Retail giant Bunnings under fire for stocking invasive weeds that threaten Australian ecosystems”. ABC News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Arthurs, Kathryn L., ed. (1979). Lawns & Groundcovers. Lane Publishing Co. ISBN 9780376035073.
- ^ “AGM Plants – Ornamental” (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 39. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ “RHS Plantfinder – Gazania ‘Aztec’“. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ “RHS Plantfinder – Gazania ‘Cookei’“. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ “RHS Plantfinder – G. rigens ‘Variegata’“. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ “RHS Plantfinder – Gazania Talent Series”. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ “African plants database”. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
