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Sun-facing Coneflower

Rudbeckia heliopsidis

Found in limestone or sandstone streambanks and barrens, pinelands, roadside relict woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

75
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 4 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
July to September

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 1 Virginia county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 5

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 174 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
  • Lithophane unimodaDowdy Pinion
Show all 21
  • Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
  • Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Papaipema nelitaConeflower Borer
  • Papaipema unimodaMeadow Rue Borer, Chain Fern Border Moth
  • Phtheochroa birdanaBird's Cochylid
  • Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Epiblema tandana
  • Paralobesia rhoifructana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
56BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Rudbeckia

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Flower color
Yellow
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Sun facing Coneflower

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG2
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources