Asteraceae
Daisy Family
Rudbeckia hirta L.
- Stem: biennial; 1’ to 2’ tall; branching above the middle; with long-spreading hairs.
- Leaves: alternate; oval and widest above the middle, pointed tips, tapering to sessile bases; 3” by 3/4” and smaller; spreading hairs above and below.
- Inflorescence: several to many heads at ends of branches.
- Heads: few, yellow ray flowers, 1” by 1/4”, held rigidly perpendicular to the axis of the head; disk flowers brown, producing a cone-shaped head (more pronounced in fruit), rays are held until after flowers have produced seeds; flowering from mid-June to mid-July.
- Fruits: “seeds” (fruits) 1/16” long, black, no plume; falling soon after maturing; fruiting begins in late June.
- Habitat: common on dry to moist prairies; also on roadsides and in open woods; in greatest abundance in somewhat disturbed places.
- Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Vascular Plants of Iowa
Can be found in these counties:
