Earthnotes
Herb Library

Back to Herb Menu     Back to Index

DISCLAIMER: These pages are presented solely as a source of INFORMATION and ENTERTAINMENT and to provide stern warnings against use where appropriate. No claims are made for the efficacy of any herb nor for any historical herbal treatment. In no way can the information provided here take the place of the standard, legal, medical practice of any country. Additionally, some of these plants are extremely toxic and should be used only by licensed professionals who have the means to process them properly into appropriate pharmaceuticals. One final note: many plants were used for a wide range of illnesses in the past, but be aware that many of the historical uses have proven to be ineffective for the problems to which they were applied.


BLACKEYED-SUSAN
Compositae
a.k.a. Coneflower, Yellow Oxeye Daisy
(Rudbeckia hirta)
imageImage

Hairy, nonrhizomatous annual, biennial or short-lived perennial plant to 3 feet which is native to the eastern United States. Leaves are simple, coarsely toothed, with the upper ovate to lanceolate and petioled and the basal leaves sessile. Receptacle is conical. Ray flowers are bright yellow. Seeds are 4-angled, oblong and do not possess a 'parachute'.
The state flower of Maryland.

PART USED: Dried root.
RELATED VARIETIES:
GLORIOSA DAISY and DOUBLE GLORIOSA DAISY: Tetraploid strains which bloom the first year from seed and with heads up to 5 inches across.
R.h. monticola: Leaves coarsely toothed; ray flowers orange-yellow. Native to Appalachian highlands, but found as far west as Illinois.
R.h. pulcherrima syn (R. serotina): Leaves finely serrate. Native to the midwestern United States, but naturalized throughout Canada and the US and northern Mexico.

MEDICINAL:
Recent research reports that root extracts stimulate the immunne system as well as, if not better than, echinacea.



©2004 by Ernestina Parziale, CH

top