Gaillardia aestivalis var. winkleri “Grape Sensation”; common name, Winkler’s White Firewheel-Purple selection, JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Ms. Wilhelm writes, “This cultivar (cultivated variety) is a selection by the Stephen F. Austin State University Mast Arboretum in Nacogdoches, Texas, in honor of the school color. The natural variety is white with a yellow center and is found only in one county in Texas. Gaillardia aestivalis depends on fire to reduce competition in its native habitat (hence the common name).”
