Black-Eyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta | Prairie Healing Flower & Pollinator Magnet

The Golden Face of the Louisiana Prairie

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is one of the most cheerful and hardworking plants in the native healing garden. Its golden-yellow petals and dark centers light up prairies and roadsides across Louisiana from early summer through fall. Native peoples and folk healers used the roots and leaves as a wash for sores and swellings, and as a tea for colds and worms. It’s a prolific self-seeder that naturalizes beautifully, filling in bare spots and feeding goldfinches through winter with its seed heads.

• Light: Full sun
• Evergreen: No
• Maintenance: Low

Plant it once and it comes back for you, year after year — golden, generous, and good medicine.