154 FARM WEEDS OF CANADA 



CONE FLOWER (Rudbeckia hirta L.) 



Other English names: Black-eyed Susan, Yellow Daisy, 

 Orange Daisy, Nigger Head, Golden Jerusalem; sometimes 

 miscalled Ox-eye Daisy. 



Native. Biennial. Coarse, rough, hairy throughout. Stem 

 simple, sometimes branched below. Leaves thick, without 

 teeth or divisions, the upper ones oblong-lance-shaped, stalkless, 

 the lower ones broader at the top, tapering towards the base, 

 on footstalks. The mode of flowering is by showy, terminal, 

 usually solitary heads, glaring golden-orange, about the size of 

 those of Ox-eye Daisy. Rays 10 to 20, much longer than the 

 hairy scaly bracts around the flower head. The dark brown 

 centre, with its chaffy scales hairy at the top, is high, cone-shaped, 

 and often becomes column-shaped in fruit. 



The seed (Plate 75, fig. 80) is about 1/12 of an inch long, 

 black, 4-angled, narrow, with parallel sides; each side with fine, 

 parallel longitudinal lines. The top of the seed is flat and bears 

 no pappus. 



Time of flowering : June to August; seed ripe by August. 



Propagation: By seeds. 



Occurrence: In prairie and pasture lands, old meadows 

 and occasionally in cultivated fields. Abundant in Quebec, 

 where it has doubtless been introduced from western Canada. 



Injury: Objectionable in pastures to all kinds of live stock 

 except sheep, which eat it when their pasture is short. When 

 prevalent in meadows it materially reduces the yield and quality 

 of hay. The seeds are frequently present in grass seed. 



Remedy: Continued cutting for a few years, to prevent 

 the plant from seeding, will suppress it. The seeds are relatively 

 short-lived. Old meadows should be cut early or brought under 

 cultivation for a few years. Sheep in sufficient numbers will 

 suppress this weed in pasture lands. 



ALLIED SPECIES: Some Wild Sunflowers are notice- 

 able weeds in the Prairie Provinces. In Manitoba Black- 



