Brown-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia triloba)

    

Brown-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia triloba) 

Brown-eyed Susans attract dozens of pollinator species. Flowering from late summer into fall, it provides crucial forage when other nectar sources are slowly disappearing. I sometimes hear complaints about the plant being aggressive, but that is really because that it self seeds, helping to maintain plant cover in degraded habitats, which ultimately improves biodiversty to those areas. Additionally, after flowering, its seedheads attract seed eating birds like goldfinches. And the hairy stems and dense foliage offer microhabitats for beneficial insects and overwintering pollinators.

It’s a native, perennial wildflower in Wisconsin, typically reaching heights of two to five feet. Numerous yellow blooms, each about 1½ to 2 inches wide with dark brown centers, appear on branching stems that give the plant a loose, bushy form. The alternate leaves—roughly four inches long and two inches across—grow along hairy stems. Preferring full to partial sun, it thrives in moist to mesic conditions and fertile, loamy soil, though it tolerates gravel, clay, and even drought. You’ll often find it flourishing in old fields and along roadsides. (SF)