The Ideas Genie Community Forum

Plants => General discussion => Topic started by: Eric Hardy on August 17, 2009, 01:58:46 PM

Title: Black Eyed Susan
Post by: Eric Hardy on August 17, 2009, 01:58:46 PM

We have a friend and neighbour who is an excellent gardener. We have a plant we have always called Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta (Asteraceae) He said that his plant Thunbergia is Black Eyed Susan and not ours. I have just Googled both of them and it would appear that we are both right

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/20/20.2.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/915.shtml

Any more Black Eyed Susans out there?  ;D

Title: Re: Black Eyed Susan
Post by: ideasguy on August 17, 2009, 02:16:03 PM

Will the real Black Eyed Susan now please stand up...  ;D

Its not unusual for plants in different Genera to have the same common name.
All the more reason for using Botanical names.

In addition to your question

Quote

Any more Black Eyed Susans out there?

how about we list a few other ambiguous common names here?
Quite useful to me for the Master Database! I enter common names (in addition to Botanical names) when known.

Title: Re: Black Eyed Susan
Post by: NightHawk on August 17, 2009, 05:25:41 PM

Well, I don't know if this is the real Black-Eyed Susan bit it is one variety.  Not sure of the actual variety as it was purchased from a Garden Centre and was just labelled as a Black-Eyed Susan  ::).

Kathy bought it for the colour and was to be a replacement annual climber for a disastrous showing of some Ipomoeas of which only 6 survived and were all white.  :(

(http://www.pixiemouse.com/igforum/black-eyed-susan1.jpg)

(http://www.pixiemouse.com/igforum/black-eyed-susan2.jpg)

Laurie.

Title: Re: Black Eyed Susan
Post by: Eric Hardy on August 17, 2009, 06:21:32 PM

Yours  looks similar to my friends Black Eyed Susan, Laurie, but his flowers are an intense orange and the centres dead black. The orange is so intense it looks as though the petals have been spray painted so you can see no veins or variation in the colour. They almost look artificial.
This is our Black Eyed Susan

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2613/3830072029_f86804ec96.jpg)