Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan)

Plant Info

Also known as:
Genus:	Rudbeckia
Family:	Asteraceae (Aster)
Life cycle:	perrenial or biennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun; fields, open woods, along roads
Bloom season:	summer, fall
Plant height:	1 to 3 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Battle Creek Regional Park Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

2 to 3 inch flower with yellow-orange petals and a dark brown or purplish button-like center. Each flower has from 8 to 20 petals (ray flowers). The bracts under the flower can be very elongated with long stiff hairs.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are variable in shape and size, but are generally slender, from 2 to 7 inches long and up to 2 inches wide. Leaves are covered in short stiff hairs and are mostly toothless; color is grayish-green. The stem is covered in long white hairs. Attachment is alternate.

Notes:

Black-eyed Susan can be found growing in almost any sunny location - dry fields, roadsides, or along lake shores. It tends to grow in patches but finding single plants among other species is not that unusual, either.

More photos

• full size plant about 2 feet tall
• a field of Black-eyed Susan
• close up of the flower bract

Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN, June-July 2007

Comments

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