BLACK-EYED SUSAN 



Rudbeckia hirta L. 



June- July 111 .luiii' jind .liily. Ilnwci-s ;in' found along 



Roadsides, fields, uplands nuulsidcs and in sunny tifhis — now tlio face 



oT till' fields is [jaiuted with blossoms. Tho 

 woods in spiiiii:' I'orc the uii'iit hurst of early bloom, but now the cominj; 

 of deoj) shade in the wood,-- and bright sun in the open has brought the 

 tide of blossoms into the sunshine. Over tlie uplands and along the coun- 

 try roads, the black-eyed su^ans gild the countryside. 



Of them all, perhaps, tlic black-eyed susan is one of the l)rightest 

 and most colorful, among the best adapted to l)ou([uets and garden use 

 as well as to life in the sunny n|)lan(ls. The fact that it has a merr}' 

 conunou name makes it known as a llowei* of the ])eople who have loved 

 it for generations. As a conellower. denizen of the ))rairie, it ?eeniP to 

 l)r unharnicil by the coating of roadside dust which does little to dim 

 the oi-ange-yeilow splendor of the tlowers. The center is hard, a cone- 

 shaped formation of stamens and pistils, purple-black, lluMi studded 

 with yellow j)()llen as the stamens mature. The leaves and stems aiv cov- 

 ered with long, stout hairs. Thes(^ sene to kee|) the dust from clogging 

 the breathing |iores or stomata. which ki'cp the plant alive and function- 

 ing ])roperly. 



Thin-leaved conellower or biowii-eyed susan { Umlhrckia frilnha) 

 h)oks like a snuill black-eyed susan. It bhwrnis late in the sunnner when 

 most black-eyed susans are ])ast their blossoming time, and makes mas.ses 

 of bright yellow and black llowers along shady roads. The llowcrs of thin- 

 leaved conellower are about half th.e size of llud})er}yui liirfn. are held sep- 

 arately on many-branching stems above leaves which are thin, hairy, and 

 varv from a three-lobed fonn to tho.se which are narrow and unlobed. 



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