Rudbeckia is a plant genus of 23 species in the family Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

. The species are commonly called coneflowers and black-eyed-susans; all are native to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and many species are cultivated in gardens for their showy yellow or gold flower heads.

The species are herbaceous

Herbaceous plant

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

, mostly perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

s (some annual

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

 or biennial

Biennial plant

A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots , then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming...

) growing to 0.5-3 m tall, with simple or branched stems. The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are spirally arranged, entire to deeply lobed, 5-25 cm long. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s are produced in daisy

Bellis perennis

Bellis perennis is a common European species of Daisy, often considered the archetypal species of that name. Many related plants also share the name "Daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as Common Daisy, Lawn Daisy or occasionally English daisy. It is...

-like inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s, with yellow or orange florets arranged in a prominent, cone-shaped head; "cone-shaped" because the ray florets tend to point out and down (are decumbent) as the flower head opens.

A large number of species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 have been proposed within Rudbeckia, but most are now regarded as synonyms of the limited list given below. Several of these currently accepted species have several accepted varieties. Some of them (for example the Black-eyed Susan, R. hirta

Rudbeckia hirta

Rudbeckia hirta, the Black-eyed Susan, with the other common names of: Brown-eyed Susan, Brown Betty, Brown Daisy , Gloriosa Daisy, Golden Jerusalem, Poorland Daisy, Yellow Daisy, and Yellow Ox-eye Daisy. It is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae...

), are popular garden flowers, distinguished for their long flowering times. There are many cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s of these species.

Rudbeckia species are used as food plants by the caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species including Cabbage Moth

Cabbage Moth

Note: the Small White species of butterfly is commonly called a "cabbage moth" in North America.The Cabbage Moth is a common European moth of the family Noctuidae....

 and Dot Moth

Dot Moth

The Dot Moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout Europe apart from the south-east.This is a very distinctive species with very dark brown, almost black, forewings marked with a large white stigma from which the species gets its common name. The hindwings are grey with a dark...

.

The name was given by Carolus Linnaeus in honor of his teacher at Uppsala University

Uppsala University

Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...

, Professor Olof Rudbeck the Younger

Olof Rudbeck the Younger

Olaus Rudbeckius, junior or Olof Rudbeck , Swedish explorer and scientist, son of Olaus Rudbeck Sr, Rudbeck Jr. succeeded his father as professor of medicine at Uppsala University. Young Rudbeck was an able botanist and ornithologist who took his doctor's degree in Utrecht in 1690...

 (1660-1740), and his father, Professor Olof Rudbeck the Elder (1630-1702), both of whom were botanists. Rudbeckia is one of at least four genera

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 within the flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 family Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

 whose members are commonly known as coneflower

Coneflower

Coneflower is a common name of at least four genera of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae:*Dracopis*Echinacea*Rudbeckia*Ratibida...

s; the others are Echinacea

Echinacea

Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The nine species it contains are commonly called purple coneflowers. They are endemic to eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have...

, Dracopis

Dracopis

Dracopis is a monotypic genus with Dracopis amplexicaulis the sole species. It is native to North America....

and Ratibida

Ratibida

Ratibida is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as Prairie Coneflowers.-Selected species:* Ratibida columnifera Wooton & Standl. – Upright Prairie Coneflower...

.

Species

Rudbeckia alpicola Rudbeckia alpicola Rudbeckia alpicola is also known as showy coneflower, mountain coneflower, or alpine coneflower. It is a perennial native to Washington.... Piper Charles Piper Charles Vancouver Piper was an American botanist and agriculturalist. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he spent his youth in Seattle, Washington Territory and graduated from the University of Washington Territory in 1885. He taught botany and zoology in 1892 at the Washington... – Showy Coneflower Rudbeckia amplexicaulis Vahl Rudbeckia auriculata (Perdue) Kral – Eared Coneflower Rudbeckia bicolor Nutt. Thomas Nuttall Thomas Nuttall was an English botanist and zoologist, who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841.... – Pinewoods Coneflower Rudbeckia californica Rudbeckia californica Rudbeckia californica is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name California coneflower. It is native to California, where it grows in the Sierra Nevada, the Klamath Mountains, and northern coastal areas. It can be found in moist habitat types, such as mountain... A.Gray Asa Gray -References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001.... – California Coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida Rudbeckia fulgida Rudbeckia fulgida Orange Coneflower, is a perennial plant native to eastern North America.- Description :Rudbeckia fulgida are perennial herbaceous plants growing up to 120 cm tall, growing from rosettes that develop at the end of stolons.- Growth and reproduction :In the garden, this plant... Aiton William Aiton William Aiton was a Scottish botanist.Aiton was born near Hamilton. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London in 1754, and became assistant to Philip Miller, then superintendent of the Chelsea Physic Garden... – Orange Coneflower Rudbeckia glaucescens Eastw. – Waxy Coneflower Rudbeckia graminifolia (Torr. & A.Gray) C.L.Boynton & Beadle – Grassleaf Coneflower Rudbeckia grandiflora (Sweet) DC. – Rough Coneflower Rudbeckia heliopsidis Torr. & A.Gray – Sunfacing Coneflower Rudbeckia hirta Rudbeckia hirta Rudbeckia hirta, the Black-eyed Susan, with the other common names of: Brown-eyed Susan, Brown Betty, Brown Daisy , Gloriosa Daisy, Golden Jerusalem, Poorland Daisy, Yellow Daisy, and Yellow Ox-eye Daisy. It is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae... L. – Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia klamathensis – Klamath Coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata Rudbeckia laciniata The Cutleaf, Cutleaf Coneflower, Goldenglow, Green-headed Coneflower, Tall Coneflower or, Thimbleweed is a large perennial forb, native to Eastern North America, most often found in flood plains and moist soils. This plant grows up to 3 meters tall, with slightly glaucous leaves, and composite... L. – Cutleaf Coneflower, Green-head Coneflower Rudbeckia maxima Rudbeckia maxima Rudbeckia maxima is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae family, which is used like an ornamental plant. They can reach a maximum height of eight feet. Once it produces seeds, finches and other small birds come to feed on them.... Nutt. – Great Coneflower

Rudbeckia missouriensis Engelm. ex C.L.Boynton & Beadle – Missouri Coneflower Rudbeckia mohrii A.Gray – Mohr's Coneflower Rudbeckia mollis Elliott – Softhair Coneflower Rudbeckia montana A.Gray – Montane Coneflower Rudbeckia nitida Nutt. – Shiny Coneflower Rudbeckia occidentalis Rudbeckia occidentalis Rudbeckia occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name western coneflower. It is native to the northwestern United States from Washington to northern California and east to Wyoming and Montana, where it grows in moist habitat types, such as meadows... Nutt. – Western Coneflower Rudbeckia pinnata Rudbeckia pinnata Rudbeckia pinnata, commonly called the Grey-headed Coneflower , Yellow Coneflower or Prairie Coneflower, is a very common prairie plant. Its flowers consist of drooping yellow flower petals surrounding a center cone which is light colored often with a dark ring near the bottom as the flower... – Grey-headed Coneflower Rudbeckia scabrifolia L.E.Br. – Roughleaf Coneflower Rudbeckia serotina Rudbeckia speciosa – Showy Coneflower Rudbeckia subtomentosa Pursh Frederick Traugott Pursh Frederick Traugott Pursh was a German-American botanist.Born in Grossenhain, Saxony, to the name Friedrich Traugott Pursh, he was educated at Dresden Botanical Gardens, and emigrated to the United States in 1799... – Sweet Coneflower Rudbeckia texana (Perdue) P.B.Cox & Urbatsch – Texas Coneflower Rudbeckia triloba Rudbeckia triloba Rudbeckia triloba is a plant native to the United States. It is sometimes grown in gardens, but it is usually seen in old fields or along roadsides.Herbaceous biennial to weak perennial. Native to central-eastern United States... L. – Brown-eyed Susan

Formerly placed here

• Echinacea atrorubens
  Echinacea atrorubens
  Echinacea atrorubens - Topeka Purple Coneflower is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from 50 to 90 cm tall from elongate-turbinate roots that are sometimes branched. The stems and foliage are usually hairy with appressed to ascending hairs 1.2 mm long , rarely some plants are glabrous....
  
  (as R. atrorubens)
• Echinacea pallida
  Echinacea pallida
  Echinacea pallida , commonly called Pale Purple Cone-flower, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes grown in gardens and used for medicinal purposes. Its native range is the south central region of the United States.-Description:E. pallida is similar to E...
  
  (as R. pallida)
• Echinacea purpurea
  Echinacea purpurea
  Echinacea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the genus Echinacea. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always purple. It is native to eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwest United States...
  
  (as R. purpurea)
• Helianthus angustifolius (as R. angustifolia)
• Helianthus porteri (as R. porteri)
• Helianthus radula (as R. radula)
• Ratibida columnifera
  Ratibida columnifera
  Ratibida columnifera, commonly known as Upright Prairie Coneflower or Mexican Hat, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae, that is native to much of North America....
  
  (as R. columnaris or R. columnifera)
• Ratibida tagetes (as R. tagetes)

Uses

Many species are used in prairie restoration

Prairie Restoration

Prairie restoration is an ecologically friendly way to restore some of the prairie land that was lost to industry, farming and commerce. For example, the U.S...

s and for ornamental use. Used by domestic stock for forage. An abundance of these plants on a rangeland indicates good health.

External links