Common name:
Black-eyed susan
Family:
Scientific name:
Rudbeckia hirta
Main flower color:
Range:
Mostly in the southern Rocky Mountains (WY, CO, NM) and the Great Plains; adventive in states further west
Height:
Between 1 and 3 feet
Habitat:
Dry to moist, open locations
Leaves:
Lanceolate to elliptic, on stalks, up to 4 inches long; hairy edges and surfaces
Season:
June to August
Rudbeckia hirta is primarily an eastern US species, introduced across the west. The rigid, grooved, green stems grow up to 3 feet tall have a covering of long, rough hairs; they are topped by one or several large flowerhead(s), each up to 3 inches across. Flowers have between 8 and 20 yellow ray florets, angled downwards (drooping), and often curving more at the tips. Rays have a few pronounced lengthwise grooves. At the center of the flower is a hemispherical group of reddish-brown disc florets, up to an inch in diameter. The upwards-pointing, lance-shaped basal leaves are also quite large, and have long stalks; stem leaves are stalkless and narrower.
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