Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima

Black-eyed susan

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Black-eyed susan is a naturalized perennial herb found in central Sierra Nevada Foothills and Great Valley in meadows, fields, and roadsides at elevations of 100 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces yellow ray flowers with dark brown-purple disk centers spreading 2 to 4 centimeters wide. Growing 30 to 80 centimeters tall with stiffly hairy stems that are simple or few-branched toward the top, it develops an upright, robust form. Its leaves range 8 to 15 centimeters long, with lanceolate to elliptic blades that are entire or lightly serrated along the edges. The flower heads feature 8 to 16 yellow ray flowers surrounding a dark purple receptacle, creating a classic daisy-like appearance.

Habitat: Meadows, fields, roadsides

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 100-1200 m

Bioregions: c SNF, GV

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.