Black-eyed Susan (Murfreesboro Indigenous Plant Project (MIPP) Guide)

Black-eyed Susan

Rudbeckia hirta

Summary ⁶

Rudbeckia hirta, commonly called black-eyed Susan, is a North American flowering plant in the sunflower family, native to Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent as well as in China. It has now been found in all 10 Canadian Provinces and all 48 of the states in the contiguous United States. Other common names for this plant include: brown-eyed Susan, brown betty, gloriosa daisy, golden Jerusalem, English bull's eye, poor-land daisy, yellow daisy, and yellow ox-eye daisy.

Description ⁶

Rudbeckia hirta is an upright annual (sometimes biennial or perennial) growing 30–100 cm (12–39 in) tall by 30–45 cm (12–18 in) wide. It has alternate, mostly basal leaves 10–18 cm long, covered by coarse hair, with stout branching stems and daisy-like, composite flower heads appearing in late summer and early autumn. In the species, the flowers are up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter, with yellow ray florets circling conspicuous brown or black, dome-shaped cone of many small disc florets. However, extensive breeding has produced a range of sizes and colours, including oranges, reds and browns.

Ecology/Wildlife Use ⁶

Butterflies are attracted to Rudbeckia hirta. It is a larval host to the bordered patch, gorgone checkerspot, and silvery checkerspot species.

Growing Black-eyed Susans ⁷

Prefers full sun, and slightly moist to moderately dry soil conditions. Any reasonably fertile soil will be satisfactory. This plant is fast to mature and easy to grow, although short-lived. Occasionally, there may be outbreaks of powdery mildew on the leaves in moist environments, particularly during the fall. (IllinoisWildflowers.info)

Sources and Credits

(c) MirkoS18, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rudbeckia_hirta-%D1%86%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0_02.jpg
(c) Grant Parkins, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Grant Parkins
(c) dnydick, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by dnydick, https://www.flickr.com/photos/66842577@N08/14397398250/
(c) John Beetham, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by John Beetham
(c) Erika Mitchell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Erika Mitchell
Adapted by Murfreesboro,TN, Natural Resource Division from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudbeckia_hirta
Adapted by Murfreesboro,TN, Natural Resource Division from a work by (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/1425390
(c) Murfreesboro,TN, Natural Resource Division, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

iNat Map

Form	Forb/herb
Light	Full sun
Soil moisture	Dry, Medium
Site	Disturbed areas, Glade, Meadow, Savanna, Woodland
Bloom period	July, August
Bloom color	Yellow
Fruit/seeds/etc.	Other
Wildlife supported	Insects - pollinators, Insects - other
Family	Sunflower Family

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Black-eyed Susan

Summary 6

Description 6

Ecology/Wildlife Use 6

Growing Black-eyed Susans 7

Read More 8