Black-eyed Susan

Rudbeckia hirta

The Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is a flowering plant in the Family Asteraceae.

It is an upright annual (sometimes biennial or perennial) native to the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.

It blooms from June through August with blossoms that measures 2 to 3 inches in diameter with yellow rays circling a brown, domed center. The Black-eyed Susan is the state flower of Maryland and has been since 1918 when it was designated the "Floral Emblem" of Maryland. (Chapter 458, Acts of 1918; Code State Government Article, sec. 13-305).