By Crystal Lea Lawhorn

The black-eyed Susan is not exactly what it’s name says. The center or so called "eye" is really reddish brown, not black. The daisy family and sunflower family are common names for the Asteraceae family which used to be the Compositae family. The black-eyed Susan belongs with them in this family. The black-eyed Susan looks like the sunflower in color, yet it looks like a daisy in form.

The genus was named after Olaf Rudbeck a Swedish botanist who was the teacher of the "father of botany" Caroleus Linnaeus. Linnaeus was influenced so much that he named the black-eyed Susan after Rudbeck. The black-eyed Susan has one-to-three-foot tall, hairy, stable stems and seven to eight inch leaves that are shaped like lances. The bright yellow flower which blooms from May to September, measures two to three inches across and happens to have the honor of being the State Flower of Maryland. They are grown in many gardens in the United States. Black-eyed Susans like dry acidic soil and a lot of bright sunlight.

Black-eyed Susans can be found on roadsides, fields or wherever there are poor soil conditions as it is a hardy plant. It is native to the prairie lands and was brought to the East Coast for domestication and growing in gardens. This biennial is pollinated by most all flying insects, including bees, butterflies, wasps and beetles, but has barbs on its stem which deter unwanted ants. It has been determined that this plant contains antibiotics, and a long time ago, was used to treat skin infections before the advances in technology of the medical field.

Written fall 2000, as a service learning project for Dr. Gary Coté's Biology 102 class at Radford University.  Copyright Pathways for Radford.