Blackeyed Susan

Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima

Found in roadsides, fields. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Height: Up to about 3 feet
Light: Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to moist

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At a glance

Life cycle: Annual, biennial or perennial
Bloom: May to July

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 53 Alabama counties.

Habitats

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Rudbeckia

Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot
Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
Adaina ambrosiaeAmbrosia Plume Moth, Ragweed Plume Moth
Archips griseaGray Archips
Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
Epiblema carolinanaGray-Blotched Epiblema
Epiblema tripartitanaThree-Parted Epiblema
Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer

Show all 18

Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
Dichomeris costarufoella
Isophrictis rudbeckiella
Isophrictis similiella
Paralobesia rhoifructana

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

25Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Rudbeckia

Andrena aliciae
Andrena asteris
Andrena rudbeckiae
Diadasia enavata
Dieunomia bolliana
Dieunomia heteropoda
Megachile inimica
Megachile parallela
Megachile pugnata
Megachile xylocopoides

Show all 25

Melissodes bidentis
Melissodes boltoniae
Melissodes coreopsis
Melissodes denticulatus
Melissodes dentiventris
Melissodes desponsus
Melissodes druriellus
Melissodes illatus
Melissodes subillatus
Melissodes trinodis
Melissodes wheeleri
Paranthidium jugatorium
Perdita octomaculata
Protandrena albitarsis
Protandrena andrenoides

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Asteraceae
Flower color: Yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “May to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Annual, biennial or perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNR
Global rank	G5T5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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