Cutleaf Coneflower
Rudbeckia laciniata
Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) is a tall native perennial with deeply cut leaves and drooping yellow rays around a green to greenish-yellow dome. It blooms from July into September in moist woods, on floodplains and along streams, including in the Black Hills. Photographed in the Black Hills.
| Family | Asteraceae · Aster |
|---|---|
| Status | Native perennial |
| Blooms | July into September |
| Height | 1–3 m (39–118 in) |
| Where | Moist woods, floodplains and stream banks |
| Also called | Green-headed Coneflower, Golden Glow, Cut-leaf Coneflower |
Roots, seeds & germination
Root: A thick rootstock with fibrous roots and long rhizomes (underground stems), which let it form colonies.
Seed: A dry, one-seeded, four-sided achene, 3–5 mm long, dark brown to black when ripe, with a short crown instead of a tuft of hair.
Germination: Seeds germinate readily when sown fresh on moist soil. Collect mature achenes from late summer to fall.
How do you identify Cutleaf Coneflower?
Look for a smooth to slightly hairy, often waxy stem, large lower leaves cut into 3–7 lobes, and drooping yellow rays around a green dome that turns greenish yellow.
When does it bloom?
July into September.
Where does it grow?
Moist woodlands, floodplains and stream banks. Herbarium records and county range maps place it in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming as well as in eastern South Dakota, and a 1949 study of the Black Hills lists it among streamside species.
Other flowers to compare
Sources: SDSU Open PRAIRIE: Rudbeckia laciniata; Thoreson 1988, A Comparative Study of Riparian Vegetation in Two Drainage Areas of the Black Hills (SDSU thesis); Minnesota Wildflowers: Cut-leaf Coneflower; Kansas Wildflowers: Golden Glow; Flora of North America: Rudbeckia laciniata; FHWA: Vegetation Management, South Dakota; BONAP North American Plant Atlas: Rudbeckia laciniata county map; GBIF: Rudbeckia laciniata occurrence records, South Dakota; South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks: Rare Plants of South Dakota.
