The Barberton Daisy was discovered in 1884 in Barberton
(Mpumalanga) by Robert Jameson, after whom it is named: Gerbera
Jamesonii. Since then it has been propogated by mainly Dutch
breeders – they created many varieties: colors, number of petals
and size were mixed and matched into the wonderful flowers you
can buy today at florists worldwide. The Gerbera Association was
established in 2002 with the following goals: 1) Conservation of
Gerbera species (several local ‘varieties’ are endangered) 3)
Protection (breeders from all over the world need the genes of
the original plants, which they try to smuggle out of the
country) 4) Awareness: South Africa doesn’t benefit at all from
the global popularity of the Gerbera – local growers have to
import seeds… On the extended website, www.gerbera.org, you will
find more on the history of this beautiful plant, the varieties,
diseases and places of interest. In Barberton itself you can go
on hiking trails into the mountains to see the daisy in its
natural habitat. For th