Flower profile

Firewheel

Gaillardia pulchella

★ Official state wildflower of Oklahoma (1986)Native in the lower 48

Firewheel is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 8 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in March–August.

39states

8of our state lists

59,430U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas

🏅

Oklahoma's official state wildflower since 1986. Visit the Oklahoma page → ^{Okla. Stat. tit. 25, § 92.1}

Quick look

Gaillardia pulchella is a North American species of short-lived perennial or annual flowering plants in the sunflower family.
From Wikipedia's article Gaillardia pulchella, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Asteraceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) / a subshrub with a annual, biennial, perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 39 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
In Texas, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in March–July. ^iNaturalist
In Florida, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in January–December. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS lists its flower color as yellow. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS gives its bloom period as indeterminate. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists a mature height of about 2 ft. ^{USDA PLANTS}
iNaturalist has 37,350 research-grade sightings of it in Texas, ranking #2 among the 109 flowers on our Texas list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 6,552 research-grade sightings of it in Florida, ranking #21 among the 110 flowers on our Florida list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 2,796 research-grade sightings of it in North Carolina, ranking #59 among the 111 flowers on our North Carolina list. ^iNaturalist

Firewheel gift ideas

Handmade firewheel gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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Firewheel art print
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Firewheel greeting card
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Firewheel mug
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Firewheel earrings
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Firewheel embroidery pattern
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Firewheel sticker
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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (3,774 records)

Bloom time in each of our 8 states

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Texas	Native	March–July	37,350
Florida	Introduced	January–December	6,552
North Carolina	Native	April–October	2,796
Oklahoma	Native	May–September	1,416
South Carolina	Native	April–November	1,006
New Mexico	Native	April–October	869
Louisiana	Native	February–December	862
Kansas	Native	few records	310

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G4 Apparently secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Texas: Not listed Not on Texas endangered and threatened plants (31 Tex. Admin. Code § 69.8), as listed by Texas Parks and Wildlife. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Texas. ^{31 TAC 69.8}
Florida: Not listed Not on Florida Regulated Plant Index (Fla. Admin. Code 5B-40.0055). NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Florida. ^{FAC 5B-40.0055}
North Carolina: Not listed Not on North Carolina Protected Plant Species List (02 NCAC 48F .0301). NatureServe: S4, apparently secure in North Carolina. ^{02 NCAC 48F .0301}
Oklahoma: No list Oklahoma has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Oklahoma ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Oklahoma.
South Carolina: No list South Carolina has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's South Carolina ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in South Carolina.
New Mexico: Not listed Not on New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in New Mexico. ^{19.21.2.9 NMAC}
Louisiana: No list Louisiana has no state list of endangered or threatened plants separate from the federal list, so we show federal status and NatureServe's Louisiana ranks. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Louisiana.
Kansas: No list Kansas's endangered and threatened list (K.A.R. 115-15-1) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's Kansas ranks for plants. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Kansas.
Rare elsewhere: Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: NE (S1). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no edibility or poison notes on its page), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people. ^{NC State Extension}

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list, and NC State Extension doesn't flag it for pets.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records firewheel in 39 states.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin.

Texas counties with USDA records: Anderson, Andrews, Aransas, Archer, Armstrong, Austin, Bailey, Bandera, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Brazoria, Brazos, Brewster, Briscoe, Brooks, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Calhoun, Callahan, Cameron, Carson, Cass, Chambers, Childress, Clay, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Collingsworth, Colorado, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Culberson, Dallam, Dallas, Dawson, DeWitt, Deaf Smith, Denton, Dickens, Dimmit, Donley, Duval, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, El Paso, Erath, Fayette, Fisher, Frio, Gaines, Galveston, Garza, Gillespie, Goliad, Gonzales, Gray, Grayson, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hall, Hamilton, Hansford, Hardin, Harris, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Hidalgo, Hill, Howard, Hudspeth, Hunt, Hutchinson, Jack, Jackson, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Johnson, Karnes, Kendall, Kenedy, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, Kleberg, La Salle, Lampasas, Lee, Liberty, Lipscomb, Live Oak, Llano, Loving, Lubbock, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, McCulloch, McLennan, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Midland, Milam, Mills, Montague, Montgomery, Moore, Motley, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Nueces, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Potter, Presidio, Randall, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Roberts, Robertson, Runnels, Rusk, San Patricio, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Starr, Sutton, Tarrant, Taylor, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Tyler, Uvalde, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Ward, Washington, Webb, Wharton, Wheeler, Wichita, Willacy, Williamson, Wilson, Winkler, Wise, Yoakum, Young, Zapata, Zavala.

Florida counties with USDA records: Alachua, Bay, Brevard, Duval, Flagler, Franklin, Hernando, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okaloosa, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, St. Johns, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton.

North Carolina counties with USDA records: Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Dare, Harnett, Hyde, Lee, New Hanover, Pamlico, Pender, Scotland.

More Texas flowers

Common yarrow

Achillea millefolium

Introduced

🌼 Blooms: April–September

White snakeroot

Ageratina altissima

Native

🌼 Blooms: August–October

Sunflowers

Helianthus

★ KS state flowerNative

🌼 Blooms: June–October

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile GAPU.
iNaturalist, Gaillardia pulchella: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Gaillardia pulchella (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Okla. Stat. tit. 25, § 92.1: Oklahoma state wildflower.
Texas: Texas endangered and threatened plants (31 Tex. Admin. Code § 69.8), as listed by Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Texas: Texas noxious and invasive plant list (4 Tex. Admin. Code § 19.300(a)).
Florida: Florida Regulated Plant Index (Fla. Admin. Code 5B-40.0055).
Florida: Florida Noxious Weed List (Fla. Admin. Code 5B-57.007).
North Carolina: North Carolina Protected Plant Species List (02 NCAC 48F .0301).
North Carolina: North Carolina Noxious Weed List (02 NCAC 48A .1702) (the list names any non-native Lythrum; we apply it to purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), which isn't native).
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Noxious Weed Law (2 O.S. § 3-220).
South Carolina: South Carolina State Plant Pest List, plants (S.C. Code Regs. 27-135; Clemson Dept. of Plant Industry).
New Mexico: New Mexico state endangered plant species (19.21.2.9 NMAC).
New Mexico: New Mexico Noxious Weed List (NM Department of Agriculture, updated June 2020).
Kansas: Kansas noxious weeds (K.A.R. 4-8-44, as amended 2026).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Gaillardia pulchella (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: NC State Extension.
Photo: Sarah Abbate via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.