Black Eyed Susan

Did you guess the name of the flower?  It's a Rudbeckia, also known as a Black Eyed Susan.  In some parts of the country, it's also called a Gloriosa Daisy or a Yellow Ox-eye Daisy, so if you said, "daisy," that would also be correct.

The Black Eyed Susan was named after Olaus Olai Rudbeck, a Swedish botanist.  It grows in a variety of places - open woods, gardens, fields, and roadsides, but it prefers full sun.

Black Eyed Susans can be recognized by their flowers which have yellow petals and brownish - purple centers.    They grow to be about two feet tall, but some varieties can grow to be almost six feet tall!  They bloom from late summer to early fall.  I love these plants in my garden, because they attract butterflies.

Black Eyed Susans are biennials, which means they live for two years.  They can be propagated through seeds, so often, if you leave the flowers, they'll dry up, and the seeds left behind will result in new sprouts.

The Black Eyed Susan's roots can be used for medicinal purposes.  It's very much like the purple Echinacea in that respect.  The juice from the roots can be used as drops for earaches, as a wash for sores and swelling, and as a treatment for colds and worms in children.  The Ojibwa Indians used it as a paste for treating snake bites.





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