Sweet Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia subtomentosa

Also called Sweet Coneflower

Features: The sweet smell of this Susan, as well as the 3-inch wide abundant blooms will linger into the fall, attracting many bees, butterflies, and birds. A long-lived perennial, it grows multiple stems from the base, forming large clumps.

Sweet Sue is the larval host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot and the Wavy-Lined Emerald. A prairie native, it is drought and deer resistant and does well if divided in the spring. Note that it is taller than some of the other Rudbeckia.

Genus name honors Olof Rudbeck (1630-1702) Swedish botanist and founder of the Uppsala Botanic Garden in Sweden where Carl Linnaeus was professor of botany.

Light: Full or part sun

Soil: Medium to moist

Height:  3 - 5 Feet

Blooms: August to October

See more information and photos at Illinois Wildflowers and Missouri Botanical Garden

Photo Credit: Wikimedia, USEPA, Illinois Wildflowers