COMPOSITAE COMPOSITE FAMILY 
TALL CONEFLOWER 
Rudbeckia laciniata L. 
Cultivation of this plant dates back at least to 1640 when it 
was grown in the gardens of Charles I of England. A double 
form, said to have been found among specimens of the normal 
form, was introduced to 
cultivation about 1894. 
This is the Golden Glow 
of yards and gardens 
everywhere, useful as a 
cut flower but in its 
natural setting no im- 
provement upon the wild 
form. The Tall Cone- 
flower and Golden Glow 
alike are subject to at- 
tack by a red aphis that 
covers the upper parts of 
the stems and ruins the 
appearance of the plants. 
The Tall Coneflower is 
a branching perennial herb 
that will grow in almost 
any soil but is most vigor- 
ous and tall in moist 
thickets, often reaching Io 
feet there. It ranges from 
Quebec to Manitoba, Idaho and Colorado, south to Florida 
and Arizona. 
The lower leaves are long petioled and pinnately divided into 
3-7 parts which are again divided into lobes; the upper are more 
nearly as shown. All are rather thin and minutely hairy on the 
margins of the upper surface. 
The several to many heads are 2 %-4 inches broad and bloom 
from July to September. The 6-10 drooping ray flowers are 
yellow and do not fruit. Bracts of the involucre are of unequal 
lengths. The chaff of the receptacle appears cut off nearly straight 
at the top and is marked with fine gray hairs. The greenish 
yellow disk flowers at the base bloom first and the higher ones 
follow until at length the disk is oblong and at least twice as 
long as thick. Each disk flower produces a brown 4-sided and 
1-seeded fruit. The pappus is a short crown. 
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